Artemis Crock and the Quest for the Crest of Kings
by RoyalVictory
Summary: "I'm looking for the Crest of Kings. And I need your help." Wally thought about it for a moment before he took off his glasses, "On one condition." "What's that?" "I come with you." Artemis Crock, world famed archaeologist, is after her biggest find yet. Unfortunately, she needs a little help to get it. Indiana Jones/ Lara Croft inspired AU. Rated M for swearing. I don't own YJ.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys. Basically, I locked myself in my room for three days and planned out the bulk of this story and all I listened to was the Imagine Dragons album Night Visions (especially the song Radioactive) and it was a huge part of my inspiration (aside from Indie and Lara Croft) for this piece so you guys should definitely go check it out. I've written a couple other chapters but I won't continue to upload if you guys don't like it. Be sure to review with your thoughts and favourite/ like/ follow/ whatever you kids do these days.**

**To the reviewer NoName: my response link is on my profile.**

**Cheers,**

**RoyalVictory.**

* * *

Artemis made no attempt whatsoever to dress up. She never did, really, unless she was after something and even then her effort was limited. But it didn't matter all that much anyway; she was already beautiful with rebellious waist length blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. She was wearing high waisted tan pants and a long sleeve white button down; her boots were dark brown and laced and her hair was braided. There was a long, scabbing cut that ran across her jaw. It was about as dressed up as it got.

Artemis slipped into the university classroom silently and leaned against the back wall, crossing her arms and watching the redheaded professor work. He was wearing a brown tweed jacket and a bowtie with little glasses perched on his nose as he spoke to the class about one myth or another. Artemis didn't really listen to what he was saying, but it must've been interesting because his entire class was captivated.

Artemis discreetly checked the paper in her hand again for his name. West. Dr. Queen had recommended him to her after she asked him about her latest assignment. Apparently, this Professor West specialized in it and he knew more about it than any other living person in the world.

Artemis checked the clock impatiently. There was still ten minutes in his class and she shifted to get his attention. Artemis caught his eye and by his look, she knew she already did have his attention. It made her smirk a little while he turned red. West went back to his lecture and Artemis noticed that Wally wasn't the one only in the room that had seen her, but that's what her glares were for.

When she wasn't scaring off anyone who dared to look at her, Artemis distracted herself by examining his classroom. The walls were completely covered in cabinets that were filled with books in every shape and size; some where huge and thousands of pages long, while others were tiny and ancient looking. The room was absolutely jam packed with desks with about five feet of space from the front desk to the blackboard that West used to his full advantage as he taught, pacing up and down with wild hand gestures.

A few girls in the front row were making eyes at the professor and Artemis mentally rolled her eyes but she guessed she could see where they were coming from. Even though he was wearing that dorky bow tie and suit it somehow seemed to work for him. His hair was vibrantly red and his green eyes were almost as bright. Professor West looked over at her and she held his gaze instead of looking away. He was the one who looked away first, going back to his lesson, and Artemis finally looked over at what he was teaching.

The hieroglyphics were easy enough to read, but that was mostly because she recognized them on site. She had those words memorized by heart: "People bring about their own undoing through their tongues." It was an old Egyptian proverb found all over the crumbling temples. But the words paired with the picture that was projected on the other side of the board let Artemis know exactly where they came from.

The bells rung, snapping Artemis out of her thoughts and cutting off West's lecture. All the students picked up their books and left, some looking displeased at the thought of leaving the class. A small crowd of girls all raced to clump around his desk while Artemis waited. She tapped her finger against her crossed arm but otherwise showed no sign of her impatience. Finally, the girls all left, some looking sad at the prospect, while Artemis waited until the last student gathered her books and left. She stood up straight and approached the front of the classroom, where West was leaned over his desk, ordering some papers.

Without looking up he said, "May I help you?"

Artemis crossed her arms and leaned back to sit on one of the front desks, "As a matter of fact, yes. I'm Artemis Crock." She kicked one leg over the other, crossing them at the knee.

The professor stood up straight, fiddling with a pen. "Doctor Wally West. And I know. You're that tomb raider the museum's hired, aren't you?" Artemis bristled at the phrase "tomb raider".

"Field archaeologist, actually." She uncrossed her arms, glanced at the board and said offhandedly, "That's from the Khalid Stone, correct?"

West nodded once, "You've studied it?"

"I found it. In the Pyramid of Neferefre about five years ago. And weren't you just saying it was one of the best archeological finds in the past fifty years?"

Wally raised a skeptical eyebrow but Artemis could tell he was impressed. He put his pen away and went back to packing up his papers. "You said I could help you, Miss Crock?"

"_Dr._ Crock, actually. And yes. Dr. Queen sent me. There's an artefact the museum wants me to go after. The one that everyone assumed wasn't real until you wrote that paper on it last year. I'm looking for the Crest of Kings." She noticed Wally stiffen slightly but otherwise, he showed no other emotion, "And everyone knows you know the most about it."

"You read my paper?"

"Of course."

"Then you'll know that at the end I stated very strongly that no one should go after it."

Artemis smiled, "Of course."

"And that means nothing to you?"

"Listen, teach. If I had let some myth mumbo jumbo turn me off of a find before I wouldn't have found anything."

"You're going to get yourself killed someday." It wasn't a question.

"No I won't. I'm too good for that," She paused and raised an eyebrow at him, "You don't seriously believe in that legend, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Then why don't you tell me where you think it is?"

"Because some people will believe that story and then people will die trying to get it. The Crest isn't worth people dying."

She mentally sighed, knowing she'd have to use her charm to get what she wanted. But hey, that was one of the reasons she was hired. It was part of the job. It'd just be nice to get what she wanted without it for a change. Artemis slid off her seat and walked towards his desk until her hip bones bumped the front of it. "Come on, Wallman. We both know you've been studying that thing for years. You want it just as much as I do. And if you tell me where it is, when I find it you can study it to your nerdy heart's content." Wally still looked skeptical but Artemis knew he just needed one last little push. She smiled sweetly, "I won't even let anyone touch it. I'll get it and bring it right back to you and you can study it first. Before any of the old geezers at the museum. Besides, almost dying is kind of in my job description. Do we have a deal?" Artemis reached out her hand.

Wally took off his glasses, "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"I come with you."

Artemis retracted her hand like he had burned it, her sweet smile falling right off her face. "No. I don't do tourists. You don't even have any field experience, and before you say you do sitting in a pile of dirt and digging with a toothbrush doesn't count."

"Fine then. No location."

"Do you have any idea how dangerous this will be?"

"Yes."

"I don't think you do. You were just saying how dangerous this would be with other people in the chase, but it's not just that. The myths are true. Not the part about the mystical powers, of course, but the parts about the booby traps? Those I can guarantee you are true." Wally looked unconvinced. "The Chinese always had excellent trap designs."

Wally smirked, "It's not in China, but that was a good try."

Artemis became even more annoyed with her failed attempt, "You're impossible."

Wally winked at her, "You'd better believe it, babe. Now, if we're done here, I have a lunch meeting I can't be late for," Wally said. Her mouth dropped open a little at his nerve, but she closed it quickly, her jaw tight. When she said nothing, he picked up his briefcase and walked past her. His hand touched the doorknob and Artemis called out to him. Wally smiled.

"Fine. You can come." She said. It sounded like the words pained her. Wally turned and Artemis strode towards him and didn't stop until she was mere inches away. "But I have two rules. One," she jabbed him in the chest, "Listen to everything I say. If you don't, chances are we'll both die. Two," she jabbed him again, "Don't tell anyone about this and I mean _anyone_. I'll call the pilots; you pack a bag and be ready to leave tomorrow. I'll pick you up at five a.m." She jabbed a finger into his chest once more for good measure then turned on her heel and practically flew out of the classroom before Wally could ask what the second rule meant exactly.

What Artemis didn't see was Wally close the door calmly and set down his briefcase. Then proceed to jump up and down and do some sort of strange dance that could only be described as "nerding out". She didn't know he regained his composure seconds later, picked up his briefcase, and left the room as if he hadn't just freaked out over the prospect of going on his first ever real archeological expedition. Even if it was with the (more than) slightly miffed Artemis Crock.

* * *

_**CRASH**_

Wally shot up in bed like a bullet. So fast, in fact, that he fell right out and onto the floor. He landed on his side and sat up slowly, hoping to god that whatever had caused that crash was just gravity and some badly placed novel. He also hoped he hadn't made too much noise when he had fallen, but he probably had.

_**SLAM**_

That was definitely not gravity's fault. That was a door slamming. Which meant someone had to physically grab the door and pull it shut. Quickly. And that meant someone was downstairs.

Wally was a well-known professor and archaeologist, and was rather well off because of it. His house was centered around a large circle, the second floor filled with rooms that wound around the bottom floor. The rooms were all connected by a large walkway that looked down onto the first floor, which was his living room. Other rooms connected onto the living room and protruded out in squares off the circular living room. It wasn't a secret that he had some artefacts on loan from the university's museum in his house that he studied in his spare time. They were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars alone, not counting all his electronics and scientific equipment. They were also locked in cabinets that required his fingerprint to open.

Wally opened his door half an inch and looked down into the living room. There were four black-clad figures, but they weren't ripping through the bookcases or cabinets or trying to smash anything open. In fact, they weren't anywhere near the artefact cases. Instead, they were throwing open doors and that could only mean one thing. They weren't after the artefacts; they were after _him. _Wally stared at them for a moment, wondering what the hell to do. He had weapons of course, but they were all downstairs and about six hundred years old. There was no way he was going to risk damaging them just because some men had broken into his house in the middle of the night and were searching for him. He was just going to have to go to plan b: find his phone.

He saw it right away. On the couch downstairs. With his cell phone was out of the picture and Wally knew his best bet was mounted on the wall, just down the hall. He'd be in plain view of the men, but they seemed preoccupied for the moment. Making up his mind, he carefully pushed open his door and began to creep down the walkway, trying to be as quiet as possible. Unfortunately, he was so wrapped up with making no noise and making sure none of the black-clad figures looked at him, he forgot to dodge the creaky spot on the hardwood floor. He froze when he hit it and looked down at his foot, cursing it and when he looked back down into the living room, all four figures were staring up at him.

"Shit," he muttered before they all drew guns from out of nowhere and aimed them right at him.

"Don't kill him, the boss wants him alive," the biggest one was the one that spoke. His voice was gruff and it was obvious he was the leader.

"Hear that, West? That means we can maim you. Don't move." Another said. Yeah, right. Wally did the calculations in his head and knew the chances of them hitting a target as far away as he was. Then he did some more calculations and he knew it was even less likely to hit a moving one. He spun around and ran into the closest room. They all began to shoot and one bullet shattered a lamp less than a foot away from him. Well, maybe he was wrong. He was a scientist, not a mathematician.

Wally slammed the door shut then looked around the room He was in his library, and the best weapon he had was a huge textbook. Well, it was better than nothing. He picked it up and moved to a book case to begin to shove it in front of the door when suddenly, there was a slam from downstairs and the men started shouting. The gunfire that had been replaced with pounding footsteps had started again.

"WEST!" Someone shouted, and Wally knew that voice. He went back to the door and opened it a fraction. From his angle, he could see her. His front doors were wide open and Artemis was crouched behind a large bookcase, reloading her gun.

"I'M HERE!" He shouted and Artemis looked up to see him. She nodded curtly then jumped up and shot again and again. She shot out the lights and two of the men cried out. She ducked back down.

"WEST, DUCK!" He had barely registered her words before he saw her pull something out of her jacket and pull a tab out with her teeth. She hurled it out and over the book case to the men. Wally ducked back when there was a huge flash of light and bang, looking back only to see Artemis's figure outlined in the blast as she leapt over the banister to the second floor. It was like it happened in slow motion; one second, he was looking back into the room and the next, he turned to see Artemis outlined in this blinding light, her braid swinging around behind her and her gun in her hand. One foot was pushing herself up on the railing, and the other was bent, ready to catch her and start to run. It was kind of beautiful.

"WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR, WEST?" Artemis yelled at his staring figure, snapping him back into reality. She ran and shoved him down the hall in front of her, watching to make sure the stunned men weren't raising their weapons again. She seemed to be counting the doors and when she reached him bedroom, she shoved the still-stunned Wally inside, slamming the door shut and drove a chair underneath the knob.

She turned to him as she crossed the room, "Get your shit. We're leaving."

Artemis wasted no time waiting for an answer and picked up his bedside lamp and threw it through the window, using her leather-clad elbow to shove out any remaining glass then throwing his comforter over it. She looked back at the still frozen Wally.

"They aren't going to be stunned forever. Ladies first." As if on cue, there were more gunshots and doors kicked open. Wally didn't move. "Move it!" Artemis said, literally kicking him in the butt. He finally got the message and jumped out the window, sliding down on the overhanging roof of his porch. Artemis slid down next to him and Wally recognized the bag he had packed earlier on her shoulder before she jumped off and hit the ground running. Wally mimicked her and followed her to a huge black truck that had Artemis written all over it. It was massive and black and had what looked suspiciously like bullet holes in the doors. She got in the front and slammed the door while he barely jumped onto his stomach into the back when his front door had slammed open, the men pouring out. Artemis floored it and took off, Wally barely getting a chance to shut his door.

"Who the hell gave you a grenade?!" Was the first thing he found himself saying, despite all the questions flying through his mind.

Artemis glared at him through the rear-view mirror, "It wasn't a grenade, it was a flash bang," she snapped, "More importantly, _who the hell did you tell about coming with me_?!"

"Just my best friend Dick. But he wouldn't tell anyone!"

"_Where _did you tell him?"

Wally eyes went wide in realization. He reddened and slumped back into his seat, "...The cafeteria," he grumbled.

Artemis threw her hands up in exasperation, despite the fact that she was driving at a dizzying speed. The car swerved and Wally held on. Artemis grabbed the wheel again, "Of course it was the bloody cafeteria! Not only is he a tourist, but an idiot! A kid idiot!"

"Hey, I'm the same age as you!" Wally protested. Artemis ignored him, looking in her rear-view mirror again, this time at the traffic behind them.

"We've got company. These fuckers are persistent." She looked at him, "I'd put on your seatbelt."

Something about her tone made him pull his seatbelt and click it in as fast as he could. Just in time too, because Artemis suddenly floored it again and turned sharply down onto a road, driving across the curb and forcing pedestrians to leap out of the way. She turned twice more then gunned it up the main road she had come onto. People honked and flipped her off but Artemis ignored them, her eyes flicking up to the mirror to see if they were still being followed. Wally saw them after the first turn. They were in a big black SUV and were keeping up with Artemis's insane driving with only some difficulty.

"Alright, no more games." Artemis muttered and Wally had a very bad sense that she was just warming up. She pulled onto a busy highway and weaved between honking and braking cars then got to the farthest left lane and drove even faster. Suddenly, she turned sharply and drove over the grass ditch and into oncoming traffic. She watched the SUV try to do the same, but get slowed down in the ditch. She sped up and dodged all the oncoming traffic and instead of continuing down the road, she cut back onto an overpass entrance and up and over the bridge. Wally looked out the window, his white knuckles gripping the handle above the door, and saw the SUV turn too sharply and turn themselves around. Wally looked to Artemis, who had a small smirk on her face. She drove down the exit ramp and back into the city. She slowed down to twenty above the speed limit, which seemed normal for her, and dug around in her pocket. She tossed her phone to Wally, who caught it.

"Call Raquel and tell her to start up the plane. We'll be there in ten." She told him. It wasn't a request.

"How'd you get there so fast?" Wally asked as Artemis turned again. His head slammed into the window and he rubbed it.

"I was watching your house."

"You don't trust me." It wasn't a question.

"No. I don't trust tourists. Or idiots. _Now call Raquel_."

Wally did it without protest (she _had _just saved his life, like, six times) and the call was picked up before the second ring.

"Yeah, A?" The voice was loud and excited.

"Are you Raquel?"

"Is this a guy?"

"Uh.. yeah. Hi, I'm Doctor Wally West-"

He was cut off when Raquel yelled to someone not on the line, "KALDUR! A GUY'S CALLING ME FROM ARTEMIS'S PHONE!"

"What's she saying," Artemis asked, looking at him through the mirror.

"Uh, Raquel? Artemis wanted me to call and say that we're on our way."

"On your way?! But we ain't supposed to leave 'til tomorrow morning! What trouble did she get herself into this time?"

Suddenly, the black SUV appeared out of nowhere at the end of the empty street. "Shit," Artemis said to herself. She changed gears then put her arm on the front passenger seat and stepped on the gas, flying backwards down the one way road while the SUV charged towards them. She stopped roughly in the intersection, causing both her and Wally to jolt, then switched gears again and screeched down one of the streets. The SUV was going so fast that it didn't have time to stop or turn in the intersection and its brake screeched in protest when the driver tried to. Artemis sped down the road.

"Oh you know," Wally said into the phone as he held on for dear life with his free hand, "The usual."

"Put her on speaker." Artemis told Wally. He did as he was told and Artemis began talking immediately.

"Rocket, get ready. They're on our tail. I'll shake 'em and meet you at the airstrip."

"Who's the guy?" Raquel insisted.

"We will be ready in ten minutes," There was another voice. This one much deeper and calmer.

"Thanks, Kal. See you then." Wally took that as his cue to hang up and tucked the phone in his pocket, Artemis too busy with losing the SUV to take it back. She turned down a few more alleys, giving Wally what he was sure was whiplash, then finally pulled up to an airstrip. Artemis kicked open her door, grabbed a canvas duffel bag from the back and walked towards the chain link fence that separated them from the airstrip, where two people were milling about a small plane, doing the final flight checklist. Wally followed her. They were about ten feet away when shots were fired and Artemis shoved Wally back behind her truck with her. She returned fire then glanced back at the fence.

"No way we'll be able to get to the gate."

Wally looked back and saw she was right. The two people who had been at the plane had ran onto it and were starting up the engines.

"We'll have to jump it," Wally concluded, referring to the gate.

"Or we can do this," Artemis said. She turned around and shot the large padlock on the fence and ran and pulled it off, shoving the gate open. "Go! I'll cover you!" She yelled at him, shooting. Wally bolted to the plane, where a tall black woman was standing in the doorway, holding a massive gun that had a strap around her shoulder.

"Wally West," Wally said quickly.

She smiled, "Raquel Irving." She yelled to Artemis, "I'VE GOT YOU, A!" Artemis didn't need to be told twice. She ran to the plane while Raquel covered her. As soon as she was in and pulling the door shut, Raquel had ran to the cockpit, where she pulled on headphones and her and a black man with tattoos that snaked down his arms began to taxi out of the airstrip.

"Who were they?!" Wally asked Artemis after they had sat down in two seats against the wall and buckled in. The plane was mostly empty, but what it did have was all very practical. It had a small bathroom in the back, with a small backroom next door. There were four beds that could be folded out of the wall with thick wire and were set up like bunk beds, two stacked above each other. On the opposite wall were a couple of crates next to four chairs that were built into the wall. There was also a large table that could fold out of the wall.

"Someone who wants the Crest. Or more likely, someone working for someone who wants the Crest."

"They had guns! You have a gun!"

"Welcome to field archaeology." She suddenly looked angry again, as if remembering the whole gun thing was his fault. "And they wouldn't be chasing you if you hadn't opened your fat mouth." Wally stayed quiet after that while Artemis grabbed her bag and began to fiddle with her gun, cleaning it with a filthy rag she pulled from her bag. Somehow, he got the idea she didn't feel like talking.

Fifteen minutes later, the silence was broken.

"Who'd you piss off this time, Artemis?" Raquel asked her after her and Kaldur turned on the flickering no seat belt sign. "And who's the redhead? You've never travelled with anyone before." She directed her next comment to Wally, "This is Kaldur, by the way." Kaldur looked back at him and nodded once, then went back to flying the plane. She went back to talking to Artemis. "He's pretty cute. You didn't say he was cute."

"We were being chased by people with large guns." Artemis said bluntly.

Wally smirked, "You think I'm cute?"

"No, I think you're an idiot. And put on a shirt." Wally went red. He'd been sleeping only in plaid pyjama bottoms and in the panic, he'd forgotten to put a shirt on after running from his house.

"Why is he going with you? And more importantly, where are we going?" Kaldur interrupted from the front.

"He gave me an ultimatum." Artemis snapped. She picked up her duffel, "I'm going to change. West, tell them where we're going." She stomped off to the bathroom and Wally unbuckled his seatbelt and rummaged through his bag. He found the map and stickie notes easily enough then went to the cockpit. He handed Kaldur the top stickie note.

"These are the coordinates. We're going to the Amazon. The closest airstrip is here," he said, pointing on the map.

"Thank you, Doctor West. If you do not mind my prying, what is it you are after?" Kaldur asked politely.

Wally hesitated but Artemis saved him when she came out of the small back room where she had been changing. "Tell him. They're trustworthy. And we aren't in a crowded cafeteria." She had swapped out the button down and tight pants for large, loose cargos and a white tank top. She dropped her leather jacket onto her bag and was wearing a beaten up old Fedora. Wally glared and felt his face warm as little at her last words but spoke anyways.

"We're after something called the Crest of Kings. There's a legend that says it was created by a secret society called the Elemantari'i."

"The elementary?" Raquel interrupted.

"No, it's pronounced EL-EM-EN-TAR-E," Wally said, pronouncing it phonically. "The Elemantari'i was said to have huge power over all the ancient civilizations; even so far as commanding the leaders of these civilizations. Well, the Elemantari'i decided that the power they had wasn't enough and made the Crest. All the leaders of the great civilizations each contributed something, whether it be magic or jewels or whatever. No one really knows exactly what form it's in, or what it's made of but it's supposed to have mystical powers."

"What power is that?" Raquel asked. Wally smiled.

"It's supposed to give the possessor the greatest power of all. Something that would make them king of the world. No one knows for sure though; some say magic powers, others say time travel."

"You don't really believe that, do you?" Artemis asked incredulously.

Wally turned and looked at her, shaking his head, "Of course not. There's no such thing as magic."

"Good. There is no way I am getting stuck with some dolt who believes in magic." Wally watched as Artemis sat down against the metal wall of the plane, crossing her legs at the ankle and tipping her hat in front of her eyes. "I'm going to take a nap." And just like that, all conversation in the plane ended. Wally picked up his journal, the one that was chalked full of his writing on all his archeological studies, and read through the words he knew by heart. Then he dated the first clean page and began to record all the events since Artemis first walked into his classroom and his life the day before.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'll keep this short: my posting schedule will most likely be Sundays and Wednesdays. I know I'm late but I had a couple tests today so I didn't get the chance to revise this last night. This chapter is a bit slow but I promise the next one will really kick it up a notch. Hope you like it!**

**-RoyalVictory**

* * *

Artemis's eyes fluttered open as someone gently shook her shoulder. She pulled her hat off her face to find Kaldur kneeling in front of her, one hand on her shoulder. Once he saw she was awake, he smiled curtly and went back to the controls. Raquel reached up and flicked some switches above their heads while he spoke.

"We will be landing soon. I thought you would like to be awake for it," Kaldur said as he switched some other switches on the panel to his left.

She nodded, "Thanks." Artemis stood and stretched her stiff limbs then stuck her hat back on her head with a yawn. She walked over to Wally, who was sleeping against the wall with some kind of diary in his lap. She kicked him. He jolted awake and Artemis walked coolly away while he rubbed his side.

"Ever heard of waking someone up nicely?"

"Ever heard of obeying rules? And I barely touched you, you big baby."

"I'd like to see you get kicked with a boot like yours and not feel it," he mumbled to himself. Artemis pretended not to hear it. Wally crossed his arms defensively, finally realizing what she said, "You can't hold that against me forever. So I slipped up _once_. That doesn't change that I'm the single person in the world who knows the most about the Crest."

"It doesn't change that you're an idiot either. We're landing soon, buckle in." Artemis sat and buckled into her chair. Despite her insults, she couldn't help the tiny smile on her face. She hadn't expected him to fight back. No one usually did. It was refreshing for someone to bite back.

Artemis watched from her seat as Wally stuffed his diary back into his bag then seated himself on an end chair, as far away from Artemis as possible. He pulled the seat belt over his shoulders and tried to buckle it, but it was twisted and tangled. Wally turned it around with some difficulty due to his lanky limbs and because he was being overly careful not to accidentally elbow Artemis, even though he was too far away to even get close. She raised as eyebrow and fought back a smile while he wrestled with it, finally giving up and taking the seat next to her.

He looked at her and turned a little pink. "What?" Wally demanded. Artemis just shook her head.

"I didn't say anything," she said with a tiny smile.

Raquel pressed onto her left headphone and steered with one hand while she spoke, "Breaker, breaker this is Rocket and Aqualad requesting permission to land." Someone must've said something into her headphone because she waited a moment before she said, "All packages accounted for, two in all. Goddess and uh..." Raquel looked back at Wally, "Kid Flash. Repeat: two packages include Goddess and Kid Flash." She paused, listening, "Affirmative. Thank you." Raquel let go of her head phone and gripped the wheel with both hands.

"Kid Flash?" Wally asked.

"Your shirt," Artemis answered for her. Wally looked down to see he was wearing his old university track team shirt and at his sleeve, where 'Kid Flash' was written in bold white letters on the red shirt.

"Oh. I forgot about that. When I was on the track team, we all had nicknames and got them printed on our shirts. Kid Flash was mine," he said.

"Yeah, I got that," she said dryly.

"Why don't they just say our names?" Wally asked, obviously missing Artemis's tone.

"Because they're travelling with me. It's not safe. Besides, Rocket likes using the nicknames. She says it makes her feel like a spy," Artemis explained. She shot a smile to the cockpit at the last part.

"Vigilante, not a spy," Raquel corrected from the front with a laugh.

The plane began to descend from there. They pulled onto a dirt runaway; it was bumpy and uneven and made Artemis's teeth clank together. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop them, making it bleed, but it was better than her teeth smashing together wildly.

They finally pulled to a stop and Artemis noticed Wally's death grip on her knee. She looked at him and he yanked his hand away like it had been burned. "Sorry," he muttered.

Artemis took off her seatbelt and grabbed her duffel, swinging it over shoulder after pulling on her leather jacket. She shoved open the door and left the plane, walking down the steps that folded out whenever the door opened. The humidity hit her like a brick wall and she breathed deeply then smiled. She could practically smell the adventure.

They had landed in a small town on the outskirts of the Amazon, the closest one to where Wally said that the cave that held the Crest was. To her right was the Amazon: huge, dark, and mysterious. Artemis had been inside it numerous times before. The air was so fresh and wet from it and the trees were taller than any of the buildings in town. The trees were so tight together that you could barely see a foot in and where the trees weren't, foliage was. That forest held more secrets than most dead civilizations; Artemis loved every inch of it. To her left was the town, filled with tall coloured buildings that had faded with age. People wandered up and down the streets on their last business of the day and little kids ran through the dirt streets, laughing and smiling and chasing each other, trying to squeeze in one last game before being called home for the night. The sky above them was a grey tinted blue and cloudless.

Wally came stumbling out the plane right after her; looking distinctly tourist. He had a bright red baseball cap on and sunscreen smeared on his face. He must've smeared it hurriedly on his face because there were long streaks on his nose and forehead. He was wearing his track shirt and jeans (he must've changed while she was asleep) and his backpack was huge. So huge in fact, that when he stepped off the bottom step he teetered from its weight. Even Raquel and Kaldur, who had multiple facial piercings and rather distinctive tattoos, respectively, looked like they fit in here more than him. Artemis sighed and rolled her eyes at Wally then turned to walk towards the town.

Wally ran to catch up. He had produced a large map from his bag and was examining it. Artemis looked at him and rolled her eyes. It wasn't even a map of the town; it was one of the Peruvian Amazon. Artemis reached up and snatched it out of his grip, folded it carelessly and unevenly, then slapped it back onto Wally's chest. He grabbed it quickly before Artemis pulled her hand away and it could fall.

"Hey!" He said.

"We already look outsider enough. We _don't _need you making it worse. And get that sunscreen off your face." Artemis hastened her pace slightly, walking past him. Kaldur jogged to catch up to her and began to walk silently with the blonde. She knew he was just waiting for her annoyance to subside slightly before he would speak.

Kaldur had always been a brother to Artemis. They met when she first got into field archaeology. Some men with some very large guns were chasing her in Cambodia and she had ended up hijacking his plane. What she didn't realize was both he and Raquel were in the back of the plane. They were both retired from the air force and had been hired by the museum to take Artemis to where she needed to go. Of course, Artemis only found this out after she had the plane in flight and another gun pointed at her from the back of the plane, courtesy of Raquel. They had worked it out soon enough.

"Where will we be staying?" Kaldur asked her.

"There's supposed to be a hotel up ahead. I've got an allowance from the museum for it. You don't mind sharing with Wally, do you? I'll share with Raquel."

"Of course I do not mind." Kaldur glanced over his shoulder and Artemis did the same. Raquel was helping Wally scrub off the remainder of the sunscreen while he scrunched his eyes shut. His hat was tucked under her arm. Kaldur looked back at Artemis. "I hope you will cut him some slack. He is trying."

"He should try harder. I warned him. I gave him my rules and he didn't listen!"

Kaldur gave her this _look _and she knew "The Kaldur Talk" was coming. That's what Artemis and Raquel called it. "The Kaldur Talk" was when he made whoever he was talking to listen to the voice of reason. He had this way of seeing both sides of a story and was excellent at explaining it to both sides. "Artemis, you cannot blame the boy for bragging to his friend that he is going on an adventure with a beautiful girl. He spends his days lecturing students and studying archaeological finds that someone else has already found and someone else has already studied. The closest he has come to this is probably sitting in a large sandbox and digging with a spoon and finding nothing. It is probably a dream come true for him."

Artemis sighed at him. Kaldur was right, of course. Wally had studied the Crest for years and jumped at the chance to go get it. She would've done the same thing. "Can't you just let me hold a grudge in peace?" She said. Kaldur chuckled.

"I am afraid not. Grudges, I find, are never very healthy." He paused, "He is also inexperienced. He has not been doing this for years as you have and he has not been training for as long either. Wally does not have the experience and that will show. You must be patient with him."

"You're right." Artemis responded and Kaldur smiled. She returned it, somewhat annoyed at not being able to be impatient and snappy with Wally now that she saw a bit of his side. She looked back at Wally, who smiled back hesitantly. Artemis inclined her head in acknowledgement.

The local inn was short and rundown; it was probably once a canary yellow but had paled in the sun. It had a black porch with more paint chips than paint and a simple little table and chair set. Artemis walked inside and up to the front desk while Raquel and Wally caught up. She asked for two rooms in the native tongue from the elderly owner, who looked only too happy to have customers. Artemis was given two keys and thanked the owner, then led the others up the tottering wooden stairs.

There was only one upper floor with six rooms on it. Each room had a little wooden door with a little wooden number, handmade and in dire need of a paint job. Artemis liked the imperfection of it all. Back at the university and museum, everything was always so shiny and clean and there was never a scuff on the floor or a dent in the wall. It reminded her of the dentist or doctor's office sometimes; when she got there early in the morning and it still smelled like bleach and Windex. It was too artificial for Artemis; she loved the city, but would always chose the real jungle over the concrete one. This place was clean but not overly so, which was good enough for Artemis.

"You guys are in six just across from Raquel and I," she told the boys as she tossed Kaldur the keys. He caught them easily with a nod.

"How about we start on dinner? I'm starving." Raquel asked. Then, as if to prove it, her stomach growled audibly. Local time was five hours ahead but it was almost dinner time for them and no one had eaten anything other than little snacks on the plane.

"Sure," Artemis said with a nod, "How about you guys make dinner while I find a guide for tomorrow?" The other three nodded their agreement. Artemis dropped off her bag then went back out into the hall and down to the town square. The sun had set in the time it took them to get a hotel room and the previously buzzing streets were empty. It was easy enough to find the local bar (she just followed the drunken singing) and even easier to find two guides willing to take her into the Amazon at day break. She left the bar as soon as she gave them the meeting point, fully intent on ditching the annoying drunks that kept hitting on her (especially the one who kept calling her 'exotic').

Artemis met the others in Wally and Kaldur's room after checking her room first. Their room was exactly the same as Artemis and Raquel's; it was small and modest, with a cramped bathroom, two beds and a desk. It was empty otherwise but it was clean and kept the heat bearable. That's all Artemis really cared about (that and the fact that it had a working toilet).

She picked up one of the tin plates they had brought from the plane and added some food to it from the open cans on the desk, also from the plane. She poured herself some juice from a canteen seated next to the cans and left her drink on the desk. She leaned against the wall by the door.

"I'm leaving at first light tomorrow-"

"_You're _leaving?" Wally interrupted.

"Yes. _I'm _leaving. You're staying here with Raquel and Kaldur and the plane."

"No, I'm not. I'm coming with you. I didn't go halfway around the world to wait in a hotel room. Besides, you won't be able to find it without me, even with a guide. I have to come whether you like it or not," Wally crossed his arms triumphantly, knowing he was right. Artemis took a deep breath.

Artemis was about to tell him off when she caught a look from Kaldur. She settled for snapping, "Fine. But if you aren't ready with your pack at dawn, I'm leaving without you. Understood?" Wally nodded quickly, like a child told they'd get a prize if they'd behave. Artemis rolled her eyes at him and finished her food quickly, sure that if she stayed in Wally's presence for too long she'd snap at him again. She dropped her now empty plate into the trash and looked at the other occupants of the room.

"I'm going to bed," was her way of saying good night. The others said good night to her (except Wally, who was staring off into space and looking happy as can be) and she went back to her room, kicked off her boots, and climbed into bed.

* * *

Artemis was awake at least a couple hours before the sun peeked over the horizon, up and moving silently to get everything ready. She left the hotel room about half an hour before sunrise, double checking everything she needed then talking to the inn keep about her fee. Wally met her outside fifteen minutes later, looking happy as a camper.

The sun was only just starting to creep up into the sky and the entire town was bathed in an array of pinks, oranges, and yellows. The town was waking up with the sun, people leaving their houses with kisses from their spouses and setting off to work. The air was warm but not uncomfortably so, as it would become in about an hour.

Artemis eyed Wally and his clothes as he approached her. She knew Kaldur must've told him she would and he also probably told him how to dress appropriately for Artemis's approval. He wore hiking boots and cargo pants, along with a dark red Henley. He wasn't wearing the hat (thank god), had made sure all his sun screen was rubbed into his face this time, and Artemis recognized his bag as one of Kaldur's from the plane. Artemis herself was wearing the same thing as yesterday: cargo pants, her big toe-smashing boots, and that beaten up leather jacket and fedora. The only thing different was her tank top was black and the large-ish hiking bag on her back. And the machete on the opposite hip as her gun right next to her whip.

"Come on, we have to meet the guides," was how she greeted him.

"Good morning to you too," Wally said cheekily. Artemis shot him a glare for that but otherwise said nothing.

They walked to near where the plane was parked, on the outskirts of the forest. The two guides were standing there, one was stubby with a squished nose and the other was taller with large, wide eyes.

"West, these are our guides, Ernesto and Fernando. They both speak English. Ernesto, Fernando, this is Wally West." Artemis introduced.

Artemis waited impatiently while Wally and the guides exchanged a few polite words. She was itching to start moving; aside from the fact that she had an assignment to get to, she hated staying in the same place for too long. She usually only took two days off between assignments and even then she was always doing _something. _She'd moved her apartment four times in the past two years and people who knew her liked to joke that it was a miracle that she got through all the years in university that she did (it was probably because she studied overseas for parts of it and did lots of field training). Her mother had always said she had a restless heart; her adoptive aunt Dinah, a psychologist, said that it was because Artemis had problems with obeying authority. Artemis wasn't sure what that had to do with it, but she'd learned to accept it and always just sent her a look then continued on whenever she mentioned didn't know it, but she didn't know what relaxing meant.

Wally and the guides finally finished and they set off into the Amazon. Artemis went first, hacking away at branches and vines with her machete when it became too difficult to walk through; then Wally and Fernando, who spoke the best English, gave directions on which way to go, and Ernesto brought up the rear, adding in advice when needed. Even though she was up front, Artemis didn't miss the way Ernesto kept checking over his shoulder; it was rare for those who lived so near to the Amazon to be so scared of it, but it wasn't unheard of. Artemis still made a mental note to keep an eye on him. She didn't need one of her guides to run screaming halfway through forest and have to go after him.

Even though sunrise just occurred, it was almost dark in the rainforest. Artemis was glad for it. The place was already sweltering hot and Artemis was glad she had brought as much water as she did (she was also glad she had told Wally to get more water before leaving the hotel). She had ditched her leather jacket into her bag five minutes in.

They saw lots of wildlife, like monkeys, brightly coloured parrots, and hundreds of lizards. One monkey even had the gull to jump down and land on Artemis's hat. She unsuccessfully fought back a smile at that once it had jumped off a second later and scurried back into the tops of the trees. She looked back at it and saw Wally, who was grinning goofily at her. She rolled her eyes and continued.

They stopped for lunch when the sun was directly above them and Wally swapped his long sleeve shirt for a ribbed tank while Artemis dug their food out of her bag. They started off again twenty minutes later. Artemis had set a steady pace for them that wasn't as fast as she could've gone, but was difficult in the heat. Judging from what she saw of Wally when he was changing his shirt, he'd have no problem going a bit faster, but the tour guides were the ones she was worried about. Fernando's panting paired with Ernesto's paranoia kept her from going any faster. No one really talked unless it involved their direction and pace.

Finally, nearly twelve hours since they first started off, Artemis stopped in a clearing and turned to look at the men. "We should probably set up camp here. It'll be dark soon."

"We're stopping?" Wally asked while the two guides started to set up their tents together.

"Yeah. You didn't think we'd make it in a day, did you?" Artemis responded as she unloaded her own tent. She saw his expression and sighed. "You did. You knew how far it was out but didn't think it'd take so long to cover ground, right?" Wally nodded. Artemis finished pulling out her tent. "And you didn't bring a tent?" Wally shook his head. Artemis rubbed her temples and reminded herself of what Kaldur said. "You can share mine." Wally's eyes widened.

"No, it's alright, I can just sleep by the fire or something."

Artemis laughed and shook her head. "Trust me; you don't want to sleep on the floor of the Amazon without a tent. Now, come on and help me."

Wally helped her set up the tent while Ernesto and Fernando started a small fire and began to cook canned beans on it. By the time Artemis and Wally had finished with their tent, it was nearly pitch black outside. The only light source was the fire and even that was small, so as not to draw animals. Artemis cooked her and Wally's dinner while the two guides went to sleep right away. She gave half to Wally on his tin plate and took the remaining for herself.

Artemis stared at the fire while she ate, thinking about the different traps that would most likely meet her in the Crest's hiding place when Wally broke her out of her thoughts.

"Artemis?" She looked up at him. "I just wanted to say..uh...well, thanks. I mean, I would probably dead or kidnapped or whatever if it weren't for you."

"It was my genuine pleasure." Artemis said with a smile. Wally returned it.

"And..uh...thanks for letting me come. I mean, we both know you could've gotten it out of me where to find the cave, or even stole my map but you didn't so...thanks."

Artemis shrugged, "I just remember what my first assignment was like, that's all."

Wally grinned, "On that note, I have a proposition."

"Oh no," Artemis groaned, thinking she just walked herself into that one.

"I think I should go with you tomorrow, into the cave."

"_No._"

"Just hear me out. I know more about the Crest than anyone in the world. And we both know I'm not being arrogant when I saw that. If you run into any puzzles or clues, then I could be an asset."

Artemis ate a mouth full of food to avoid answering. She thought as she chewed and Wally watched with hopeful eyes. The truth was, she _had _been considering let him come. She could handle the traps on her own, but if there was some kind of clue that prevented a trap from happening? If it was in any way related to the Crest? It wouldn't be the first time she saw one. It _would _potentially save her a lot of trouble. And possibly her life. But it could also cause her a lot more trouble, bringing a rookie into the cave with her. Artemis made up her mind and swallowed.

"Fine. You can come. But I'm dead serious here, West. Those people who chased us around yesterday? They are nothing compared to the traps we'll run into tomorrow. The chances that we'll die are higher than those that we'll live. Those people with guns yesterday were exactly that: people. They had a conscience you can usually appeal to when you're staring down the barrel of their gun, as long as you know what you're saying. But those traps were designed to be merciless. Chances are that if we do die in there, it will be very slow and very painful. Do you understand?" She knew Wally could tell how serious she was being, because he nodded with a solemn look on his face. "Good."

They sat in thoughtful silence for ten minutes, before Wally spoke up again. "Artemis?"

"Yeah, Wally?"

"Why'd you become a field archaeologist?" Artemis looked at him curiously, but spoke anyways.

"I love the history." Artemis answered without hesitation, "I love world history, always have always will. Same with science. There's a lot more science behind these artefacts than people realize. But I could never sit in an office or a classroom all the time. It'd be like scraping a cheese grater against my forehead every day, you know? No offence. I live for the adventure." She paused, "What about you? Always aspired to be a professor?"

Wally laughed, "Hardly. I've always wanted to do what you do."

"Really?"

"Uh, _yeah, _I mean, come on. You have the coolest job ever. You're literally a professional badass." Artemis smiled. "You actually get paid to run around the world, searching for artefacts. I mean, don't get me wrong, studying them is great and I love teaching but I think tomb raider is at the top of my list."

"Field archaeologist," Artemis corrected.

"Yeah. Sorry," but he was grinning and didn't look sorry at all. Artemis rolled her eyes. "But, yeah. I love being a professor. My Aunt Iris used to tell me all about these old civilizations and stuff and I guess it just stuck. I first heard about the Crest when I was a teenager and have studied anything and everything about it since."

Artemis nodded then stood, feeling kind of weird about their civil conversation. "I'll go clean off the plates," she offered her hand out and Wally handed her his with a thank you. She went far enough from the camp so as not to attract any animals and cleaned off the plates with water from her canteen. Then she went back to the camp, where she found Wally lying on his stomach and examining a large, hairy tarantula with fascination by the fire. She almost laughed at his mystified child-like expression.

"Careful," she warned and by the way he didn't jump, she figured he must've known she was there, "That's an Avicularia-"

"-Urticans. Peruvian pink toe. I know. Its poison isn't fatal; it's more like a bee sting, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's one hell of a bee sting."

Wally looked up at her and grinned, sitting up, "You got yourself bit by one?"

Artemis nodded, putting the dishes away in her bag then going to sit on a rock near him and his new best friend, "I was in a tree in another part of the Amazon. Don't ask why, legally I'm not allowed to tell you." Wally raised his eyebrows but Artemis continued without pause, "Anyways, I was in the tree, watching some seriously pissed off tomb raiders run around because I had trashed their camp site – don't look at me like that, they were terrorizing this village trying to figure out where I went, so naturally I messed up their camp a bit and took a few pictures of myself with their camera. You should've seen their faces when they saw that. So I was in this tree and I must've sat next to its web or something because one bit me – why are you laughing, West?"

Wally's laughter ebbed, "Nothing. It's just that I've known you for a day and I'm pretty sure you're the only person I've ever met who would piss off a bunch of tomb raiders so much that they would start bothering a village in order to get you. And then in retaliation you'd fuck with their minds by messing up their camp site and take pictures of yourself, then sit in a tree and get bit by a tarantula just so you could get a kick out of their faces once they saw what you had done."

Artemis grinned because, well, it _did _sound like something she would do. Because she did. She shrugged, "It was worth it. Besides, they left the village alone after that."

"How'd you piss them off in the first place?"

"They were trying to brute force their way into the front of the temple and I just slipped in one of the wall slits in the back. Then I grabbed the idol and left. And maybe I waved it in their faces a bit. But they were going to sell it on the black market." Wally started to laugh again and Artemis crossed her arms, "I was justified."

Wally took one look back at the tarantula, then kicked some dirt over the fire. "We'd better go to sleep. We have to get up early." They both looked at the tent, then each other. Artemis stood.

"I'll go in first. Take off your shoes but bring them in with you. You don't want to wake up to find your tarantula buddy has made a home in there tomorrow."

Wally laughed and waited for her to climb in, then followed. Artemis reflected that the tent really wasn't built for two people, but if they stayed on their sides, at least they wouldn't be touching. She zipped closed the thick fabric then laid down, using her jacket as a pillow and her shoes as a holder for her hat.

"Good night, Artemis," Wally said from beside her, facing the outside of the tent. Artemis faced the opposite side of the tent.

"Night, West."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and follows and everything. They really mean a lot. I was too lazy to read this over and it might have a few mistakes in it. Thanks for reading.**

**-RoyalVictory**

* * *

Wally woke up early the next morning. Sun was just starting to stream down onto the red tent, sending patches of soft rusty red light throughout it. It was getting hot inside the small tent already but at least it protected them from the full force of the sun above them. Wally's arm was bent at the elbow and he was using it as a pillow; his bare arm was stuck to his cheek from sweat. The ground beneath his side was softer than he would've thought, but that was probably just because of all the grass and leaves beneath them. He was on his left side, not his right like he'd fallen asleep on, and was facing Artemis because of it, who had also turned over in her sleep.

There was a streak of warm red light across her cheek and neck and she also used her arm for a pillow, resting it on her jacket. Bits of hair escaped from her braid and stuck to the sides of her face and her cargos had been shoved halfway up her legs while she slept. He looked at her for a moment, wondering if he should wake her up and was still wondering it when her eyes opened slowly and Wally was met with her foggy grey irises. Wally noticed, not for the first time, just how beautiful she was.

"Morning, teach," she said before yawning.

"Hey."

Artemis sat up and stretched her arms above her head, her knuckles brushing the top of the tent. Wally sat up too and pulled his shoes over to him and turned them upside down before he laced them on. Artemis finger combed her hair back and braided it back in place. She was beginning to pull her boots on as he left with his pack on his shoulder. He picked out the insulated tin he kept the food in to discourage animals and handed some to Artemis as she climbed out. Fernando and Ernesto were already up and packing their tent; Wally and Artemis finished eating and followed their tour guides' lead. They were off fifteen minutes later in the same formation as the day before: Artemis in front, Fernando and Wally in the middle, and Ernesto pulling up the rear.

"How much farther do you think it is? Time wise?" Wally asked a few hours after when they broke for lunch.

Artemis leaned over him and examined the map he held, "Not far. I'd say within the next hour or so." Wally grinned broadly at that.

"Really?"

Wally could tell she was fighting back a smile but then she raised a stern eyebrow and said, "Just remember what I said last night." Wally nodded quickly and Artemis stated it'd be a good time to start going again.

She was right; they reached the cave within the hour. Its mouth was nearly completely covered in vines and other foliage. they would've never seen it, had it not been for Wally and his map. Artemis walked up to it and hacked away at some of the foliage around the entrance with her machete. Pictures of the Incas in war and performing sacrifices decorated the jagged entrance and just above it were words that Wally couldn't read.

Artemis read them for him, "Iantu Utiyu. It means Shadow Cave." She took her backpack off, then pulled two holsters out of it and buckled them on and around her waist then attaching her whip to it.

"What are you planning on meeting in there?" Wally asked as he watched her. Artemis looked up at him and dropped her backpack.

"Anything and everything." She said before double checking both guns were loaded and tucking them into her holsters. She tucked another gun into the back of her cargos. Artemis took out a flashlight while Wally took off his backpack and took out his own. She pulled out a small satchel and strung that over her shoulder, putting the flash light in it. Artemis stuffed her leather jacket into her bag and pulled her fedora down a little further on her head. She took out a huge stack of thin rope and Wally took the coils for her while she tied one end onto a tree close to the exit.

"I've got it," she said, reaching for it once she had finished.

"It's alright. You've got everything else, anyway," Artemis didn't look happy about it but didn't object when he strung the coils over his shoulder.

Artemis looked over at the guides, "You stay here. If we aren't back by sunset go back." Then she turned to the cave and walked in, Wally at her heels. She paused at the entrance and took a large torch off the wall, lighting it with a lighter from her pocket. She put her flashlight away and held up the torch, letting it illuminate the tunnel.

"Its light's better," she said as an explanation. "This is how the makers of this tunnel saw this place. I want to see it as they did."

Wally nodded. "So, what's with the rope?"

"We're pulling a Theseus. These places tend to have lots of twists and turns. This'll make it faster for us to go out." She paused, then looked back at the guides. They were both facing the away from them and Artemis bent down to her knee and pulled the gun out of an ankle holster, stood back up, checked it was fully loaded, and clicked it.

"Safety on, safety off," she said, demonstrating for him. "Use it for emergencies only." Wally took the gun with a nod and tucked it into the back of his pants, pulling his shirt over it.

Artemis swung her torch around the tunnel as she spoke, "These are the rules: step where I step. Don't touch _anything _unless I say so and do _everything_ I say. Got it?"

"_Everything_?" Wally wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Artemis shoved an elbow into his gut. Wally pretended it didn't knock the air out of his lungs.

The tunnel was anything but spectacular. Past the ten foot mark, it would've been black as pitch without the torch and it was seemingly endless with cold stone walls that they could reach if they stretched their arms straight across. The foliage stopped at the door, and it appeared that the wildlife had too. The only sounds were their footsteps and some far off dripping, accompanied by the whispered praying of Ernesto and Fernando behind them that echoed through the tunnel eerily.

When they finally reached the end, they could barely see the entrance of the tunnel. Artemis approached the end wall and began to run her hands across it carefully, examining it. She took a step then the stone she stood on sunk a good few inches into the ground. Artemis jumped back and there was a horrible scraping sound, Wally whipped around to see a large stone falling over the entrance. Wally looked to Artemis, who was watching it. She met his look with a smile.

"Why are you smiling?"

"Because that," she gestured with her chin, "Means we're in the right place. Search the walls for any markings, but don't touch them. And watch where you step." The moment she finished, there was more scrapping and they both braced themselves for another rock to drop. But nothing happened.

"What was that?" Wally asked.

"I_ think_ that was another tunnel moving. There could be hundreds. We should-" Artemis was cut off when their tunnel started to turn. Artemis and Wally instinctively reached out and braced their arms against each side of the tunnel, holding themselves up straight. It took two minutes at most for the entire tunnel to finish turning and Wally noticed the ends of the tunnel had extended by at least twenty feet.

"What is this place?" Wally asked.

"I think it's a maze." She said slowly. She picked up the still burning torch that she had dropped when the tunnel started to move. She sounded excited, "Come on, let's go down here." They went down to the left and found the next end of the tunnel. Artemis began dusting along the top of the wall. Wally held the torch for her so she could dust with both hands. "The outside of the cave had words above the door. Why not down here?" Was her explanation.

"Have you ever been in a maze like this before?" Artemis nodded.

"They usually depend on a lower turn table in order for everything to move. They're timed by water in an underground river of some sort and when someone hits the trigger it all starts. The trigger was the stone that I stepped on; the one that caused the huge rock to fall in front of the entrance."

"How do you know this place has a solution?"

Artemis looked back at him. "Easy. Whoever made this place had to reset it. If anyone else had found this, then the maze wouldn't have been open like it was. Besides, do you see any skeletons? Human remains of any kind? No, the people who created this got out alive. We're the first people to have stepped in here for thousands of years."

"That's amazing," Wally said.

Artemis looked over at him and he was rewarded with a tiny smile, "Welcome to field archaeology." She went back to dusting, "See this?" She pointed out two tiny carvings that rose out slightly above the rest of the wall. "These are two Inca gods. This is Inti, their god of the sun. And this is Supay, their god of death." She looked over her shoulder, "Where would you rather go: the underworld or the heavens?" She didn't wait for an answer; she pressed in Inti and the wall began to scrape open, revealing another passage. The moment they stepped in, the tunnel they had just left began to turn away even before the door closed. Wally got a glimpse of below them and saw Artemis was right; there was some sort of underground waterway controlling it all.

There was more scraping, telling them that another tunnel was turning. "Wally, time the tunnel change. I want to know how long we have in each tunnel." Wally nodded and checked his watch. There was another scraping noise.

"About a minute thirty." Wally told her. Artemis muttered her thanks then went to dusting away the next Inti carving.

They continued down numerous passages, going from tunnel to tunnel without much change. Some tunnels were wider than others; some there was at least ten feet across and others they had to walk through sideways. Every so often, Artemis would take out her compass, study it, then go back to walking. If Wally thought it was humid when he walked in, he couldn't even compare it to what it was like now. It was almost hard to breathe, the air was so thick. But that was nothing compared to the heat. Sweat soaked the back of Wally's shirt and it came down in beads on Artemis's face.

They kept this up for at least an hour and a half when Wally spoke up again while going through a wider tunnel, "What happens if you hit Supay?"

"A trap, probably." Artemis hesitated before pressing the next Inti carving.

"Artemis, how do we know we're not walking in circles?"

Artemis turned around, biting her lip. "I was just thinking the same thing. We've been in here for a little over an hour." She looked at him, "Wanna take a chance?" Her eyes flashed to the Supay carving. Wally nodded. "Brace yourself," Artemis told him, then she pressed the Supay carving. At first, nothing happened. Wally let out a nervous laugh, but Artemis looked distrusting. Then there was a loud creaking unlike the changing tunnels. They both turned around to see a large-pendulum like thing swinging left to right at the opposite end of the tunnel, about twenty feet away. It came closer and closer to them with every swing.

"But that's impossible!" Wally sputtered, "There's no evidence of a pendulum ever being used and even if it was, it would be in Spain! Not Peru!" Wally said quickly. Artemis stepped forward, tracking its progress with her eyes.

"You wanna argue about that now?" He didn't respond. Artemis handed him the torch, "Go crouch in that corner. And don't argue." Wally stepped back into the corner, but didn't crouch. Artemis bent her knees slightly and stared at the pendulum, now barely ten feet from them.

Wally realised what she was thinking and his stomach turned, "Artemis, don't do what I think you will."

"The edges are probably dull from the humidity."

"Yeah, _probably._"

"You got any better ideas?" But she didn't wait for an answer. Instead, she bolted right at the pendulum and jumped as it swung to the middle of the tunnel. Wally stepped forward helplessly and watched wide-eyed as she grabbed the part holding the blade up. She swung around it twice from momentum, then managed to plant her feet, one on each side of the blade with her back to Wally. She began to throw her body weight with the knife, causing it to swing faster. It started to graze the wall. Artemis, apparently unhappy with that, looked over her shoulder at the wall behind her. She waited three more times for it to graze the opposite wall, then jumped up, kicked off the wall, and let the pendulum smash into the opposite wall, breaking a huge hole in the wall and throwing her through it. The pendulum lodged itself into the unbroken wall and Wally bolted to the hole.

Artemis was on her knees and elbows, hacking from the rock dust. She sat up and looked over her shoulder at him and grinned. Wally climbed through the hole while Artemis picked up her fedora, which had fallen off when she flew through the wall, brushed some of the dust off and tugged it back on her head. Wally offered her a land but she stood on her own, eyes wandering the room.

"Are you okay?!" He asked, stepping into her line of vision.

Artemis shook her head at his concern, "I'm fine," she panted, still grinning. Other than a deep gash on her cheek, she looked it.

"How'd you know that would happen?"

Artemis shrugged, "Most mazes I've been in have the turntable directly below the treasure room. We _were _walking in a circle, right around this room. Call it an intuitive leap."

"You _guessed_?"

"I don't like the term 'guess'. Intuitive leap."Artemis looked out at the room they had landed in and Wally followed her gaze. His jaw dropped. The room was huge, and with the exception of the hole Artemis just made, there were no doors. The walls had statues of the heads of Incan gods circling the room and there were four tall pillars with intricate carvings circling them, outlining various Incan gods. The middle of the room was dominated by a series of four large circular platforms, stacked one on top of another. There were five statues of Inca warriors lining the walls and on the top of the platform was a small cylinder. On top of that was a piece of solid gold.: the Crest. Wally stepped forwards, but Artemis held out an arm, stopping him. She was eyeing the statues.

"Do you think we're going to meet a minotaur?" Wally asked. Artemis looked at him.

"What?"

Wally rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, feeling his face go red. "I was just- uh. You said we were pulling a Theseus earlier?"

"Oh, I get it. I'm not sure." She laughed lightly, "It'd be a first for me." She looked back at the platform, now all business. "You stay here. I'll get the Crest." Artemis approached the platform slowly and Wally noticed each level had a single word repeated over and over again. They were written in a language Wally had never even seen before; he took his little black notebook out of his pocket and scrawled them down quickly so that he could look up their meaning later. More likely than not, they were just Incan curses or warnings or something but the scientist inside Wally couldn't help himself. Wally went back to watching Artemis's slow progress, when suddenly there was the familiar scraping sound, causing both Artemis and Wally to whip around to see the tunnel they had come out of slide away, covering their only exit with solid stone. Artemis and Wally exchanged a look then Artemis went back to approaching the Crest. She carefully picked it up then slowly descended the platform, tucking it into her satchel. She walked up to a grinning Wally.

"That was too easy," she said warningly. As if on cue, the mouths of the god statues slid down and open and sand began pouring out of their mouths at an alarming rate. It was up to their ankles in seconds. "Come on, up the platform!" Artemis yelled, grabbing his hand and tugging him up. It took under a minute for the sand to reach the third layer of the platform.

"Any ideas?" Wally asked. Artemis looked around the room, then up. Wally followed her gaze to a small circular hole in the ceiling completely void of sand.

"I've got one." She opened her satchel and pulled out a stick of dynamite.

"You've been carrying that around in your bag this whole time?" Wally asked. Artemis raised an eyebrow at him.

"Where else would I put it?" She looked back up at the hole. "I'll throw it through. Come on," Artemis led him away and down the steps. They stood as far as they could get from the hole, the sand up around their waists. Artemis lit the fuse with her lighter and threw it. The dynamite flew through the hole and both Wally and Artemis ducked down, covering their heads. The dynamite went off with a deafening BOOM and bits of rock and debris hit Wally's arms and torso. By the time they looked up again, the sand was grazing the bottom of Wally's ribs. They helped each other move through the sands and back to the steps, but it was slow progress and the sand moved fast. It was up to Artemis's chin by the time they made it to the third step, where it was up to his shoulders. When they finally made it to the top, they were both panting from the sheer effort of moving through the sand. Wally and Artemis climbed onto the platform where the Crest had sat; it was only about a foot in diameter and they barely fit, but neither was really too concerned with their proximity to each other at the moment.

Artemis took her whip off her belt (with some difficulty – the sand was up to her waist) and shot it up, but it fell short. Artemis tried her whip again, but just couldn't quite reach.

"We have to wait," she said.

"What?!"

"We have to let the sand lift us up until we reach it. Don't struggle, you'll sink." It didn't take long for the sand to begin filling higher and higher and they were somehow lifted inch by inch. Artemis shifted slightly, and pulled out her whip. She sunk down to her shoulders then took a deep breath and cracked it up. Finally, the whip latched on to something in the hole and Artemis grabbed onto Wally. "Hold on," she told him and he didn't have to be told twice. Artemis pulled them up about halfway when she finally gave up. She wasn't strong enough to lift them both all the way to the top. She and Wally switched positions; she held onto him around his shoulders as he carried both of them up.

Almost at the top, Wally paused.

"What are you waiting for, West?"

"Isn't that a Celtic triple spiral?" He said, examining a delicate and faded carving in the wall.

"Do you really think this is the time?!" Artemis snapped. Wally glanced down at the rising sand. He kept climbing.

When they reached the top, Wally wrapped one arm around Artemis's waist and lifted her over the lip of the hole, then pulled himself up after her. Artemis took her whip off the chunk of rock it had caught onto once he was up.

They both sat for a moment, trying to regain their breath and Wally tried to slow his pounding heartbeat. He turned out his pockets and about three pounds of sand fell out. The two emptied their shoes and pockets of the stuff and Artemis brushed off her hat. Artemis recoiled her whip and reattached it to her belt then looked back down into the hole. "It's still rising. Let's get out of here." She stood up and Wally followed, glancing down at the room. The treasure room was now completely covered by sand, only a few feet down from the hole, and it was still rising. It didn't seem to matter that even the sand dispensing gods were covered. He glanced at the wall again and saw he had been right: on the wall, there was a Celtic triple spiral encased in a sun. The pattern continued all the way around the room and Wally narrowed his eyes at it thoughtfully before getting up to follow Artemis.

There was only one way to go and they went down it. The tunnel got steadily darker and darker until they could barely see anything, even with Artemis's flashlight (the torch had been dropped back in the treasure chamber along with Wally's flashlight). They wandered for twenty minutes until Artemis stopped suddenly.

"Did you hear that?" She said. Wally opened his mouth to say "no" but was cut off when Artemis shushed him. Then he heard it. It was the grinding sound of stone on stone but it was quiet and gentle, almost like...

"It sounds like movement." Wally said. They both looked to the corner where it was coming from. Artemis turned her flashlight to it. Wally kind of wished she hadn't.

From around the corner, came one of the statues. Its eyes glowed green and it moved gracefully, not how you'd expect stone would. It paused and just looked at them. Wally and Artemis did pretty much the same.

"Fascinating," Artemis said finally. Wally swung his head to give her a look. It held a spear and let out this inhuman screech, causing both Wally and Artemis to flinch and cover their ears. Then it began to charge them, still screaming. Artemis recovered first, dropping the flashlight and pulling her guns out of their holsters. She shot it in the head and chest while it advanced, not giving up any ground until it stopped screaming and fell. The glow in its eyes went out. Artemis shot it one more time for good measure then went and kneeled beside it, examining it.

Artemis stood up again and reloaded her gun, "Found your minotaur, West. Come on." Wally picked up the flashlight, which had rolled to send light directly onto the statue's face. She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him after her, peering around corners before going down them.

"Why did it scream?" Wally whispered as she checked the next corner.

"There were four other statues. Take a guess." Wally opened his mouth to reply, but Artemis slammed her hand over it. Then he heard it. It was the grinding again and it was coming closer. Artemis carefully removed her hand and gripped her guns. She took a deep breath, twirled her guns around her fingers, then jumped out from behind the corner and shot again and again. Wally leapt out from behind her to give her some light but a second statue was already in shambles on the floor. Artemis reloaded and gave him a look. From then on, they travelled in silence. The only sound was the quiet scuffle of Wally's boots; Artemis moved was practiced grace on the balls of her feet, making no noise at all.

The maze was no longer moving, probably because of the sand clogging its gears, and the maze was silent. It was unnerving. The doors still worked though, and Wally thanked his lucky stars that they did. Otherwise, they'd be stuck in that passage with the first statue.

"Artemis, look!" Wally stage whispered. She turned around and Wally held up their rope, pulled tight. He'd lost the rest of it back in the treasure room when it began to fill with sand. Artemis pulled out her compass.

"We came in from the South East. We should follow it that way," she said, pointing forward. They followed it for twenty minutes, and the tunnel began to get colder and less humid.

"This is the third tunnel we went through," Artemis said.

"How do you know?"

Artemis pointed to some dust on the walls, where someone had traced the letters A.C. She wiped the letters away quickly afterwards, obviously wary of anything else using those to find them. "It won't be long now."

But then there was the familiar grinding from behind them and Artemis shoved Wally forward, turning to reload her gun and run backwards. "Shit!"

"What?"

"My guns are jammed. _Fuck_." Wally halted suddenly, causing Artemis to slam into his back.

"Artemis?" Wally said. He was staring straight into the face of a second statue, coming towards them. Artemis and Wally spun so they stood sideways, facing each other but looking at the two statues. Suddenly, Artemis shoved Wally against the wall and used the narrow passage to jump from wall to wall and kick the nearest statue in the chest. It stumbled backwards and she yanked its spear from its grip and hit it with the butt of the spear the second she landed. Then she jumped up, kicked off the same statue's chest as it fell to flip around and kick the second in the face, knocking it over.

"You just kicked it in the face," was all Wally could manage out. Artemis grabbed his arm and pulled her along behind her, dropping the spear.

"Yeah, I have a bit of a bad habit of that," she said, shoving him down the next passage as soon as the wall opened.

Wally glanced back over his shoulder at the two statues, which were still on the ground. One's chest had caved in and the other's face had done the same. "I wouldn't call it bad." They began to jog.

They had increased their pace quickly, the threat of the last statue still hanging above their heads paired with the thought of being so close to the entrance spurred them on. Finally, they made it to the first passage. The rock that had covered the entrance was literally blown away, debris and evidence of a bomb littered the tunnel and suggested it had been blown from the outside. Wally didn't think anything of it, and judging by the way Artemis practically flew out after him, she didn't either. Wally landed on his face, of course, and just laid there a minute, thanking god he was alive.

"West, get up." Artemis said from beside him and he knew something was wrong by the tone of her voice.

"And do it slowly," someone added. They had a thick Spanish accent and sounded very pleased with himself. Wally sat up slowly onto his knees and found at least twenty guns pointed in his direction. "Hands up," one of the men grunted and Wally mimicked Artemis, putting his hands on his head and staying on his knees. Wally spotted Ernesto and Fernando standing on the edge of the crowd, looking positively gleeful.

"So this is your life, huh?" Wally said to Artemis. She grinned.

"Artemis. It's a pleasure to see you again, _hermosa_," The man was tall and lanky and wore pants that were roughly four sizes too small. "Search her," he commanded. Two large men put down their guns and relieved Artemis of her jammed guns.

"Friend of yours?" Wally asked.

"West, this is Pedro Cortes. He was the leader of the group of tomb raiders I told you about last night."

Cortes leaned down and got right in Artemis's face. "You told him about me? I'm flattered."

"Has anyone told you how terrible your breath is? I'd offer you a mint but I don't have any anywhere near the caliber you'd need."

Cortes looked back at Wally and sneered, "Who is this boy, anyways?"

"We're having sex." Artemis answered automatically. Pedro swung his head back to Artemis, as did Wally. She smiled. "He's a scientist with Stanford University. A professor. Don't worry, he's harmless."

Cortes knelt in front of her again and dug his hands through her satchel, then pulled out the golden Crest. Wally hadn't gotten a good look of it back in the maze and now he saw it was solid gold with little jewels covering it. It was about six inches long and looked like a quarter of a hollow circle. Wally saw Artemis's eyes narrow and he knew she knew what he'd been hiding. Pedro, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice. He smirked and examined it and Wally felt anger boil up in him. They'd almost got killed for that thing!

"That belongs in a museum!" Wally blurted and Cortes looked at Wally and raised an amused eyebrow.

"Don't worry, teach. These guys can keep it safe for us so I can steal it back later. Just like the other seven times," Artemis said smoothly. Cortes fired off two warning shots that landed a foot away from Artemis. Wally nearly jumped out of his skin while Artemis didn't even flinch.

"Sorry, did I upset you?" She said in a dry tone. Cortes smiled.

"Just reminding you who has the control in this situation."

"Oh, don't worry I know who's in control." And by her tone, Wally was pretty sure she wasn't talking about Cortes.

When the men finished disarming Artemis (the total weapon count came to twelve knives, three guns, and a mini crossbow) they began to approach Wally. "Do you really think I'd give him a gun?" She asked. The men stopped, and looked at Cortes. "You saw him land on his face when we were getting out of that cave. Plus, he practically jumped three feet in the air when you fired your weapon. He'd probably shoot himself in the foot. Or worse, _me_ in the foot."

Cortes shook his head at the men, "He wouldn't have any weapons on him."

The gun Artemis gave him felt twenty pounds heavier.

"I heard you were looking for the Crest in England," Artemis said conversationally. Cortes rolled his eyes.

"I was in India then Greenland, Miss Crock. My other team is in Bulgaria."

"No luck in any, then?"

"If I had then do you honestly think I'd be-" Cortes froze, realizing exactly what he had just given away. Artemis gave him a toothy smile. He took a deep, shuddering breath and turned on his heel to leave.

"So, Cortes, the boss still pissed about Greece?" Artemis interrupted his escape. Wally knew by her tone she was purposely prodding him on now.

Cortes spun around, his face flashed with anger and he walked towards her, then struck her across the jaw. She fell and the men with the guns laughed. Artemis sat up again and replaced her hands on her head. The scab on her chin had reopened and was bleeding freely off her chin and down her neck.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Careful," Wally warned quietly, "These guys are serious."

"Oh, you have no idea," Artemis muttered back. "I have a plan. Get ready."

"Tie up the professor and load him into one of the jeeps. From what my men in America said, he's pretty well off. His ransom could pay all of our expeditions for a year." Cortes looked over at Artemis. There was a look on his face that made Wally's skin crawl. "And load Miss Crock into my jeep. I would like to interrogate her back at the hotel. Privately."

Artemis let out a high, cold laugh. Wally jumped. Cortes glared.

"And what, exactly, do you find so funny?"

Artemis smiled, "That you think that you actually have the control in this situation." In one quick movement, she flung a rock at him, surprising Cortes and his crew long enough for her to grab the gun from Wally's pants, shoot twice, then grab the back of Wally's shirt and pull him roughly into the forest with her.

Artemis led them, Wally only just behind her. They could hear the sound of Cortes and his party crashing through the forest behind them but they had the advantage; there were only two of them, and Artemis seemed to know where she was going as opposed to Cortes' giant party and the fact that they had to follow instead of make their own path. She'd grabbed Wally and tugged him, turning sharply every so often, but otherwise they kept the same direction and pace. Finally after fifteen minutes Artemis let them rest. Wally leaned against one of the larger trees while Artemis watched the direction from where they had come from. The sound of Pedro's party was long behind them, and even though they seemed to have lost them, Artemis was wary.

"I thought you said you had a plan?" Wally said once he was finally able to catch his breath. Artemis looked at him.

"I did."

"You call that a plan?"

"_Fine._ It was more of a general outline." She seemed to remember something, then pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Speaking of plans; what the hell are you thinking, West?" She spat it at him. She sounded even angrier than when she had saved his ass back at his house. "The Crest is in more than one piece, isn't it?"

"Well...yeah."

"And you neglected to tell me this because...?"

"You never asked?"

Artemis glared. "Try again."

"Well, you didn't. You always just assumed that it was in one piece. I just never felt the need to correct you on that."

Artemis breathed out through clenched teeth, "And how many pieces is it in?"

Wally swallowed. "Um...well...maybe four?"

"Four?! Four fucking pieces?! And when the hell were you planning on clueing me into this fact?!"

Wally ran a hand through his hair, "Listen...I just. I didn't think you'd let me come if there was more than one piece. And I just..."

To his great surprise, Artemis sighed. She rubbed her temples, "I get it. The adventure. It's like a drug."

Wally saw his opening and took it. "It's not like I'm not the only one who's keeping secrets."

Artemis crossed her arms, going right into defensive stance. "_Excuse _me?"

"You requested the Crest. The museum didn't assign you it. I looked it up."

"Yeah, I requested it then I was assigned it. I never lied."

"And neither did I. We both just left details out." Wally stood up straight after leaning on the tree, "Call ourselves even?"

Artemis eyed him for a moment then uncrossed her arms. "Fine."

After that, the two continued on their route. Wally didn't realize it until they got back to the maze entrance, but Artemis had led them in a circle. The camp was totally abandoned, all the equipment, vehicles, and anything that couldn't be carried left behind.

Artemis went right to the packs along where Pedro had been standing, "Shit. He took the Crest." Then she wandered over to the small army of jeeps near the back of the clearing Cortes and his men had made with all their equipment. "The dicks!" She exclaimed loudly, laughing. "They left the keys in the ignition. Come on, Wally, help me with this."

Wally went over to her and helped her take all the keys out of the jeeps. "What do you want to...?" He turned around to see her throwing them randomly around the rainforest.

She looked back at him, "What are you waiting for? Start throwing. When those guys come back, we don't want them to be able to chase us, do we?" Wally began throwing the keys around with her.

"Why don't we just take the keys with us?"

"Because it will take them a lot longer to give up this way."

Artemis quickly loaded some of the more expensive into the equipment and their packs into the only jeep that they had kept the keys for and they were off five minutes later. Artemis drove, of course, across the rough path the jeeps had beat over on the way in.

"So. Who the hell is Cortes and why was he waving a gun in my face?" Wally asked. Artemis looked over at him then back at the path.

"I met him at a dig in the middle east. Well, I tagged along with his tomb raiding dig. I ended up hijacking the artefact and handing it over to the museum last minute. But I did all the leg work for it, so I don't see it as stealing. That paired with my refusal to sleep with him, ticked him off a little. And now I take any chance I get to piss him off and he takes any chance he gets to plant a bullet in my skull."

"Is that why you requested this assignment?"

"It was more like an added bonus. You got a problem with that?"

"No, only the minor fact that it almost got us killed."

Artemis turned to glare, "I told you it was going to be dangerous."

"I assumed you meant the booby traps and poisonous animals."

She laughed, "You don't know the half of it, Kid Idiot."

"Kid Idiot?"

"Raquel called you Kid Flash." But she didn't continue after that, so Wally guessed that was the end of it. He stayed silent for ten more minutes and Artemis looked over suspiciously. "Why're you so quiet?"

"I might know what form the Crest is in. There's a whole bunch of scripts that talk about all the different forms, but there's a few that agree with each other. Now that I've seen it, I'm pretty sure it's a cuff. Like a wrist cuff."

"A cuff? Really?" Wally nodded. "Interesting."

"And I think I know where the next piece is."

"Where?"

"I think it's in Ireland."

"_Ireland_?!"

"Yeah. Remember that Celtic symbol I saw? It was part of the House Crest of Castle Brighid in Ireland."

Artemis huffed.


	4. Chapter 4

**I am 3/4 asleep and my brain has pretty much shut down. I just edited this, so it might be a lot wrong. Review please.**

* * *

"Hey West?" Wally looked up at her from his seat on the plane as he read through a book he found in the back. It turned out that the back room of the plane was stuffed full of books on everything and anything, but mostly archaeological finds and history. Artemis was standing in front of him, holding a leather bound book that looked worse for wear. She slid into the chair next to him and held out the book.

"This is why I wanted to look for the Crest." Wally took the book curiously and opened it, finding it full to the brim with crooked handwriting and little diagrams. Artemis continued, "This was my grandmother's. She was a field archaeologist too. She passed away in July and I got this in the mail with her engagement ring two months ago. She'd left them both to me when she died but no one could find either of them. Turns out, she sent them through the mail before she died." Wally looked back up at her while she spoke, "She knew I was a field archaeologist too and I think that's why she sent me it in the mail. She could've just kept it but she sent it instead. I think someone was after the journal because it's entirely about the Crest of Kings. There's stuff in here that's not in any books anywhere. This thing is gold to whoever is looking for it. But the problem is, I barely understand a word of it. She talks about all these things I've never heard of and the library has nothing on. I was thinking that maybe you would. Unfortunately, it's written in Vietnamese. I can read it, but-"

"I can read Vietnamese," Wally interrupted. Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

He nodded, "I took Vietnamese Lit at Stanford." Wally had gone back to flipping through the journal and looked up at her with wide, excited eyes, "This is amazing."

Artemis bit her lip, "You really think so? You don't have to look at it if you don't want to; I just thought it might help."

"No. I want to. I've never had anything like this to study, it's fascinating," Wally grinned. Artemis returned it.

"You have fun with that, teach," Artemis said, her new favourite nickname rolling off her tongue. She stood, "And don't tell anyone you have it. I mean, Kaldur and Raquel are obviously fine just don't go flaunting it around. If I'm right about someone wanting that, my guess is that they won't have very much restraint if they find out where it is." Wally nodded and Artemis left to go talk to Kaldur and Raquel.

Wally walked out of the plane and looked around at his surroundings. They had landed in a large field outside Dingle, Ireland. It was early spring there, the ground covered in slush that used to be snow is some places and completely dry in others. The air was warm but chilled by a cold breeze that made little goose bumps rise on his bare arms. He pushed his bag up his shoulder and descended the stairs. Artemis, Kaldur and Raquel were already at the bottom and Wally got to them just in time to hear Kaldur start to talk.

"Artemis, I am afraid we have some business to attend to elsewhere. We will be able to meet up with you in a few days, however." Kaldur reached out his hand and Artemis shook it, nodding.

"Thanks, Kal. I'll call you if we move locations." Kaldur shook hands with Artemis. Raquel offered hers to Wally and he took it, then the pairs switched. The two pilots got back into the plane and Artemis and Wally waved as they began to taxi away. Then they turned and began to walk towards the town of Dingle, Ireland. Artemis put her duffel over her shoulder and across her torso. She pulled a chain out from under her shirt and off from around her neck, then she unclasped it and took off the two rings that hung from it. One was silver and large with little red engravings, like the large 'S' on the top. Wally guessed it was her grad ring. The other was smaller and older, but that didn't take away from its beauty; it was gold and had a small square platform that held a modest diamond on it. Artemis slipped the smaller ring onto her left ring finger and handed the other to Wally.

"Put this on and follow my lead," Artemis said. They entered the small town. It had colourful houses and red brick buildings. There was greenery poking out from the slush on the sides of the roads and the places was buzzing with tourists and locals, who smiled as they passed.

They chose the first inn they found that had a vacancy sign outside, which was a stout red brick building like most of the other businesses. Wally held the door for Artemis and she rolled her eyes at him while he gestured with a flourish. The warmth from the fire place inside washed over the Wally second he stepped in the door. The lobby itself was cozy, full of squishy chairs and dark wood tables facing the fireplace. There was a large man behind the front desk that grinned when he saw Wally and Artemis. They approached the desk.

"'Ello there, kids!" He said cheerfully, "Here for a room?"

"Yes, please. Just for a couple days, though," Artemis said with a smile. The man smiled and began to type on his computer.

"So you kids here for the festival?" The man said conversationally.

"Yes, sir." Artemis took Wally's hand and leaned her head on his shoulder, "It's our honeymoon." She held up her free hand, palm towards her, and wiggled her fingers, displaying her ring.

"Yeah, e'rybody comes for the festival. It's lots o'fun, it is. Names, please?"

"Jade and Paul Kent," Artemis answered. The names rolled off her tongue so easily that Wally wondered if they meant something. The reason she used fake names was obvious, of course. They didn't want to be found and fake names were only a part of that. Earlier, she had said travelling with her was dangerous; Wally only believed her all the more after meeting Cortes.

The man behind the desk put a little credit machine on the top of the desk and Artemis let go of Wally to pay with the museum's credit card. The man gave her a key and a final welcoming smile then they left the front desk. Their room was just down the hallway from the lobby and had a big wooden door. Artemis unlocked it and they walked in together, Wally shutting the door behind them. The room had a large king bed with tall bed posts and an old television. The desk was made of dark wood and the bathroom was small and clean. Artemis took one look at the bed, then looked back at Wally.

"Don't get excited. We won't be staying the night."

"We aren't? Why'd you pay for two days?"

"To be safe. If the next piece isn't at Castle Brighid, which I'm sure it is, we'll find out where it is tomorrow and be gone at dawn. You want to shower first?"

"No, you go."

"I can-"

"Artemis, go." Wally said, smiling. Artemis raised an eyebrow but took some clothes out of her bag and went into the bathroom. The shower started and Wally unpacked the clothes he would wear after and his jacket. He walked over to the shower door and knocked.

"Yeah, Wally?" Artemis responded over the sound of the running water.

"I just wanted to know who Jade and Paul Kent were," he responded, going back over to his bag.

"Us, for now. My sister's name is Jade and my mom is Paula. Kent is the last name of two of my high school friends. I think they're still on honeymoon in France now."

Wally nodded, forgetting she couldn't see him, and went quiet so she could shower. She came out ten minutes later in a tank top and skinny jeans, towel drying her hair, and Wally went in. He turned the shower on and let the hot water beat down on him, washing away all the grime and dried sweat from the Amazon. They had washed their arms, necks, and faces to make themselves more presentable but couldn't have full showers on the plane, obviously. He got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist after drying himself and his hair off quickly and brushed his teeth. He threw the towel into the tub and pulled on jeans and a long sleeve shirt then left the bathroom.

Artemis had changed her shirt to a green long sleeve v neck and her hair was dried and down. It was wavy and almost down her waist. She could've easily passed for one of those stereotypical California girls except her big ass-kicking boots kind of ruined the image. The near scabbing cuts on her cheek and chin didn't help much either. She was on the bed reading her grandmother's journal and looked up when he came out.

"What's the festival we're in town for?" Wally asked as he put his clothes in his bag.

Artemis bit her lip as she thought, "What's the date again?"

Wally checked his watch, "February first."

Artemis shut the journal and put it in her lap, "It must be Imbolc. It's an old Celtic festival celebrating Saint Brighid, which makes me even more sure that the next piece is up in that castle. The journal mentions the date and the festival multiple times, I doubled checked. Imbolc itself is celebrated after dark with a parade and bonfire and fire presentation. Hopefully, everyone will be gone by midnight and we can sneak up to the castle then." Artemis stood and put the journal back onto Wally's bag. "What's the local time?"

Wally looked at the clock beside the bed, "Almost five."

"Ready to go?" She asked. Wally grabbed his wallet and jacket and Artemis pulled on her leather jacket and tugged her hair up into a ponytail, pulling the same satchel she had used in Peru over her head and across her torso. The two left, joining hands and interlocking their fingers to play the part of honeymooners. After receiving directions from the man behind the desk they left for the festival grounds.

There were already people milling around the field where the festival was being held, getting food from the free barbeque and there were children running around, playing games. The sun was starting to set and some people had already broken out the sparklers, drawing pictures and writing names in the sky. Wally and Artemis went and got burgers from the kindly locals behind the barbeque and took a seat on a patch of dry grass. Wally noticed some large rocks sitting on a hill not far from them. When he pointed them out, Artemis laughed.

"What's so funny?" Wally asked.

"Because those 'rocks' are the remains of Castle Brighid. It was mostly destroyed in the Cromwellian Wars." She said, taking a bite of her burger. Wally could see why Artemis was so confident that they would find it in a single night; it wouldn't take long to search. Then he thought of something.

"How do we know the war didn't destroy it?"

"If it was found, there would be record of it somewhere; you've never read of a piece being found before?" Wally shook his head. "Besides, the Elemantari'i wouldn't have hidden it in a place it could be destroyed so easily. My money's on that the chamber is beneath the dungeons."

"How can you be so sure?" Wally asked before taking a bite of his burger.

"Call it an intuitive leap." Wally looked at her and rolled his eyes while Artemis grinned.

Before either could say anything else, the loud, steady beat of a drum could be heard. Artemis stood up suddenly, motioning for Wally to follow. They walked over to a crowd of people and Wally saw it. The procession was starting. There were people in black cloaks and pig masks and people in red cloaks with black hoods covering their faces. They all held large torches alight with fire, which were really the only light source since the sun had completely set ten minutes ago. There were people in tight black suits who spun little balls of fire on strings. Children waved sparklers and their own little candles as the little parade passed, laughing gleefully. One of the men in the black suits came towards Wally and Artemis, waving his little ball of fire around him. It was hard to see the string in the dark and it looked like the fire was moving according to the man's will. The man winked at Artemis and Wally put his arm around her protectively. To her credit, Artemis didn't break character once because she leaned into him slightly. The man continued on, fascinating tourists and locals alike.

People on stilts juggling fire and more people in cloaks handing out sparklers came next. Two sparklers were lit on the end and everyone shared the fire until everyone's sparklers were lit. The procession was ending by then, everyone gathered in a large portion of the field in front of them. The last of the procession to get to the front was a large carriage pulled by two men in cloaks. On the carriage were a hundred sparklers, all shining brightly and not one going out.

Then one of the men on stilts began to narrate the tale of Jack Frost and the Green Man as they battled for supremacy while the other people in the procession moved in an organized dance, each on the side of either Jack Frost or the Green Man, who were also stilt walkers in blue and green, respectively. Songs were sung in a language that Wally didn't understand but Artemis translated under her breath when she did. Most were about St. Brighid and her magnificence, but some were about Spring and others about the battle that was enfolding in front of them.

When the story hit its climax, dazzling pyrotechnics were set off and everyone stared on in wonder. The sparklers in the people's hands had died out all at the same time, as if by magic, when the narration started. Now that the Green Man had finally triumphed, a man ran forward and blew a huge cloud of fire onto a large bonfire pile and the fire illuminated the entire field. Then the people in the procession came out into the audience and relit everyone's sparklers and the music picked up. Children began to run and dance with each other while parents watched on.

Wally hadn't realized that the whole play was nearly two hours until he checked his watch. Artemis had looked back on his stunned face at the end and smiled. He returned it.

"You ever seen that before?" Wally asked.

"Once. A long time ago," Artemis said.

They found a bench and sat down to watch the people from the procession, some now without masks, dancing with the children and some daring adults. The stilt men walked around and preformed little magic tricks with their fire while others juggled and the men in the skin tight suits threw their little balls of fire.

A few local girls their age ran to them and grabbed their hands, pulling them to come dance by the bonfire. It was more traditional than modern but easy all the same. At first, Artemis had refused but once she began to get the hang of it, she went along with it. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail and put her arms around Wally and the girl beside her as they all began to circle the bonfire, turning and stopping at all the right points. The circle soon broke off, however, when a bunch of little kids ran forward to join them. From there, it was more freestyle than anything.

Wally went up to Artemis and said, "I'll go get us drinks," before she nodded. Her face was flushed from the dancing and she was smiling brightly. He left to get drinks and when he came back to the bench they had been at before, he found a trio of tiny redheaded girls doing Artemis's hair. She looked up at him.

"I had no say in this," she said. Wally laughed.

"I'm sure you didn't." The girls put three little braids on each side of her head that pulled back behind her and met at the back, making one large braid over the rest of her hair. It looked beautiful.

The festival went on like that for the next three hours, full of dancing and running and some drunken singing from some older locals. Wally was starting to get worried they'd be out there the whole night but the families began to leave around ten. Wally and Artemis wandered over to a table of locals their age at about eleven and sat down. Artemis did most of the talking, giving easy answers to any questions about them (they met at university, got engaged at the restaurant they had spent their first date at) and asked polite questions about the locals themselves. She was surprisingly good at it; to be honest, Wally hadn't marked her for someone who could talk so easily to strangers. Finally, she turned the conversation topic to the town itself and Castle Brighid.

"The Castle is where some couples go for privacy, if you know what I mean," one of them said but that's all they held for the topic.

Wally and Artemis wandered the festival grounds for another half hour and the group of people dwindled down to a few tourists and a handful of locals. The drink table brought out some alcohol and opened a bit of a bar. Artemis and Wally each got a beer, but it was more for show than anything.

By the time midnight rolled around, Artemis was getting restless and Wally could tell. She tugged on his arm and pulled him away from the group of people he was talking to. "We should get going," she said and Wally nodded in agreement. Everyone else was already pretty drunk by now and most likely wouldn't notice if they left.

Artemis and Wally started up the hill and towards the castle.

* * *

They almost made it too.

"HEY! WHERE YOU GOING?" Artemis and Wally froze, turning around to see a few drunks stumbling around at the bottom of the hill. The one who yelled was half lying on one of the benches, barely able to keep his head up. Artemis recovered first, doing the first thing she thought of. She threw her arm around Wally's waist and held her beer in the air and let out a loud _**WOOHOO**_! The drunks lifted their drinks in response and yelled back. Wally, playing along, slid an arm around Artemis's shoulder and his other under her knees, picking her up bridal style. Artemis put an arm around his neck and held up her drink again. They she leaned over and kissed Wally on his pulse point, ignoring the sudden heat in her face. The scruff of his stubbly beard scratched lightly against her face.

"Let's move, teach," she whispered against him before kissing his neck again. The drunks wolf whistled at them while Wally turned around and walked to the remains of the castle easily. He put Artemis down as soon as they were out of sight of the hill.

Artemis, still feeling exposed, led him behind a half destroyed wall and took off her satchel. She kneeled beside it and tossed him a flashlight then stood up and took off her jeans, revealing black spandex shorts. Wally raised an eyebrow. Artemis caught the look.

"You didn't really think I would wear skinny jeans when we have to go against traps, right?" She pulled out her belt and attached her whip. She tugged her hair back into her ponytail while she talked, "We need to find the dungeons." Last but not least, Artemis pulled out her Fedora and stuck it on her head. She put the satchel back over her shoulder and the two split up. Artemis wandered over to some of the large wall fragments that laid around, trying to get a feel of where the original castle layout. She had been doing that for a whole of five minutes when Artemis heard rocks clash against each other and whipped around.

"Artemis!" Wally's voice called out. Artemis turned and ran in the direction that Wally had gone. "Careful!" He yelled and Artemis looked down. In between two chunks of walls was a hole and right in the bottom of that hole was Wally, covered in dirt and grime.

"Are you alright?" Artemis asked, kneeling down carefully by the hole. Wally looked up and nodded.

"I'm fine. You might want to come down here," he said the last part as he began to look around where he had landed.

"I leave you alone for five seconds," Artemis said, shaking her head with a smile. Artemis stood and jumped down, landing on her feet next to Wally, who had also stood. She swung her flashlight around where they had landed, finding they had landed in some kind of tunnel.

"Not bad, teach," Artemis said. She chose a direction and decided to go with it. "Let's go this way." Wally followed her down the hall. They walked for ten minutes and Artemis began to lose hope and turn back when Wally spoke up.

"Artemis, look at this," he pointed to a symbol on the wall. It was a triple spiral in the middle of a sun. And beneath it was the carving of Inti. "This was in Iantu."

"And this is Inti. The Peruvian god." Artemis reached up to run her left hand across it, her fingers brushing it lightly. It started to glow and Artemis retracted her hand like it had been burned, both stepping back in surprise. The wall squeaked as it swung open and into itself to reveal a staircase. Artemis and Wally exchanged a look and Artemis stepped in first, Wally right behind.

"But that doesn't make sense," Wally said, "After all those years of people touching that spot we're only discovering it now." Artemis had no answer for that, so she kept quiet. They were going down an ancient spiral staircase, the only light coming from their flashlights.

The stairs ended at the entrance of a long hall. The moment they stepped down and off the stairs, torches began to light themselves, two at a time, starting nearest to them and going farther away. The torches were mounted on tall pillars; between the pillars and the wall were deep bubbling pits of what looked like lava. The end of the hall was dominated by a huge statue of St. Brighid, her eyes literally full of fire and her giant outstretched hand held the second piece of the Crest of Kings.

Artemis got a bad feeling the second they came out of the stairwell. She eyed the seemingly innocent room suspiciously, "I don't like this."

"Why?" Wally asked, "All we have to do is walk right up to it and grab the Crest." Then he stepped forward and began to walk towards the hand, but there was a _twang_ and Artemis grabbed his hand and shoved him with her entire body weight against the back of the nearest pillar, holding him there as six flaming arrows flew out and hit directly where they had been standing seconds before.

"_Because_ it was too easy. Don't forget what happened in Iantu," Artemis warned. She stepped back cautiously and kneeled down, shining her flashlight across the way to the statue, revealing multiple trip wires.

"But no organic material could've survived that long," Wally said in awe, "Not even the bowstrings."

"Unless they were treated by something," Artemis said. She moved her flashlight throughout the hall, revealing more trip wires. "I'll go. You stay here."

"Why?!"

Artemis looked at him, "Wally, you literally fell through the floor to find this place." Wally went silent after that so she took that as an unhappy agreement. She took off her jacket and put her hat on Wally's head. Then she dropped her satchel and took a deep breath. Artemis used the torches that lit the room around her to find the rope and slide her body around them. It was slow work, having to slowly lower herself to the ground and slip under some strings multiple times only to stand up again to dodge another.

By the time she was halfway through the room, she chanced a look back at Wally. He nodded once to her in acknowledgement and stepped back, leaning onto a pillar. The stone his shoulder touched slid into the pillar and Wally jumped back, eyes wide. The lava began bubbling wildly on either side of Artemis.

"I didn't do it!" Wally yelled from behind her. Artemis was distracted by the pit to her right until Wally yelled to her. "ARTEMIS, LOOK OUT!" Artemis turned her head to look to the left and her heart almost stopped. Something was climbing out of the lava with some difficulty. Lava dripped off its body like it was water and flames licked and caressed its limbs.

"Another one? Seriously?!" Wally said. The thing's head snapped up to look at Wally, its eyes glowing like embers.

"Wally," Artemis said quietly. The thing slowly turned its head to look at Artemis and it straightened up. Artemis saw now that it was supposed to be a Celtic warrior of some sort, complete with dripping cape and flaming hair. It drew a red hot sword from its belt. "Get behind a pillar," Artemis said to Wally. She could see him out of the corner of her eye, his eyes going wide when he realized what she was about to do. The thing took a step towards her and she watched Wally go behind a pillar, then peek out. Artemis forced herself to stay still while the fiery warrior took another step forward and another and another. Finally, it was close enough to reach out and touch. It lifted up his sword and swung it, but it was too late. Artemis had turned and ran in the opposite direction, snapping all of the strings on the way and causing a hundred arrows to shoot out. Artemis was able to dive behind a pillar in time, but the thing must've caught fifty arrows. Instead of falling it just stopped and looked down at them. Artemis held her breath as she slowly backed away to stand beside Wally, who met her in the middle. The thing began to rip arrows out of itself, others catching fire and falling as they burnt to a crisp.

"You get the Crest," Artemis said. "I'll deal with the hothead. And don't argue. You're faster and I'm more agile." Artemis saw Wally look over at her out of the corner of her eye but she kept her eyes trained on the thing. She pulled a pair of leather gloves from her bag and handed them to him, along with the satchel. "Take these, in case they treated the Crest with a chemical or something. If they treated the wire, they probably treated it." Wally took them.

"Be careful."

"You too," she said before running out. She picked up a rock from the ground and threw it at the creature. "Hey ugly!" It looked at her and raised its sword. It charged her and Artemis dodged it easily, letting it slam into the pillar. She backed up a few feet and let it swing, again it was easily dodged. Artemis ducked behind a pillar and let the thing hit it again. She checked Wally's progress and looked back at the thing. It swung again, much faster and harder now. It was hitting the pillar hard enough now to not only chip it, but have to use force to pull it out. And again and again. It was _learning_. It got faster and faster, making it hard for even Artemis to dodge.

She briefly considered using her whip, but that would just make the thing go after Wally and she wanted to keep its attention on her. Artemis kicked the blade away when it came towards her and used the pillars to her advantage, letting the thing waste its energy hitting them instead of her.

It wasn't long before the thing got smart. As she turned around a pillar, it reached out and grabbed her hair, pulling her back. Artemis only just kept her footing and turned back to face the thing. It faked a swing and went the opposite way, catching Artemis off guard and slamming into her left forearm, which she threw up to protect her head. She grunted and fell, cradling her arm as best she could. Artemis hit the ground and her first thought was that Wally had better have the fucking Crest. She looked up to see the thing slowly raise its weapon. It seemed to smile. Artemis's eye went wide. And not because she was about to get chopped in half by a Celtic warrior.

Wally had appeared from nowhere. He looked furious and quite honestly, that made him scarier than any lava-Celtic-warrior-thing. He grabbed the sword with his gloved hands and pulled; the thing stumbled back from the sheer force and tripped over itself. It fell into the lava and Artemis stood up quickly, rushing to Wally's side.

"Are you okay?" She took his hands gently and turned them palm up. The gloves were completely burnt through and the skin was a furious red

"I'm fine." Wally said. "We should get out of here. That thing crawled out of lava once, it can do it again." Artemis nodded in agreement and they ran up the stairs and climbed with some difficulty out of the hole. The festival grounds were completely void of people but they didn't stop running until they reached the hotel room. Wally sank down on the bed with the Crest next to him while Artemis hovered over him.

"Wally, let me see your hands," she said gently. Wally turned them over and Artemis studied them for a moment.

"It looks like the gloves protected you from the brunt of it." Wally raised an eyebrow. "It looks worse than it is. It's probably just a bad first degree but I still want to bandage it up with some cream for the night." She made him go hold them under cool water for fifteen minutes, checking the water temperature periodically to make sure it wasn't going too hot or cold.

While Wally did that, Artemis went dug through her bag until she found her first aid kit. She pulled out the burn cream and some bandages then sat down next to Wally once she had decided it was alright to bandage them again. First, she used a small knife that she kept in her boot to cut away what remained of the gloves, some stuck in the burned skin. Wally clenched his teeth but not once did he complain, which Artemis had to give him credit for. After pulling away the gloves, she carefully massaged some of the cream in and wrapped it up in a bandage.

"What about your burn?" Wally asked. Artemis looked down to where the sword had slashed her. She had pulled her sleeve over it to hide it, but Wally took her arm gently in his bandaged hands and carefully pulled up the sleeve. "Not bad," he said, "Maybe first degree, but it's bruised too which is going to hurt like a bitch." Artemis raised an eyebrow at him and Wally met her look with a smile. "What? I'm not just a pretty face." Artemis rolled her eyes then bandaged her arm up while Wally went into the bathroom. Then she called the airline and booked two tickets for the first flight they could get for the next day. She finished up just as she heard swearing start, and looked over at the door curiously. She stood up and walked over, knocking.

"You alright in here?"

"Yeah, come in," Wally said. Artemis opened the door to find Wally in front of the sink. His stubble from not shaving for the past few days was covered in shaving cream and Wally was holding a straight edge razor in a bandaged hand with some trouble.

Artemis leaned against the door frame, "Having some difficulties?"

Wally looked at her in the mirror, "Yep."

"Do you want some help?" Wally raised an eyebrow.

"You know how to use a straight edge?"

"Yeah. Come on," she tilted her head to the side, indicating to go into the bedroom. Wally did as he was told and sat down in the desk chair. Artemis took the razor from him and tried to do it standing from the side, but hesitated before starting. She sighed. "Wally, do you, uh, mind if I...?" Wally's eyebrows met in the middle and Artemis decided she'd just show him. She swung a leg over his lap and sat down, straddling him. He tensed up slightly but Artemis decided to ignore that and the blush that lit up her face to focus on the job at hand. She carefully swiped the blade down his cheek and wiped it on a towel, then she continued the same action again. Wally's body relaxed after a second and Artemis felt the blush in her cheeks lessen slightly.

"I wouldn't peg you for the cutthroat type," Artemis said conversationally. Wally chuckled.

"My uncle taught me how. I guess it just kind of stuck. Call me old fashioned," he said. Artemis made a humming sound of agreement.

"Thank you. For earlier," Artemis said, now progressing to around his mouth. Wally waited for her to get to his cheek before he answered.

"You would've done the same for me. But you probably wouldn't have burned yourself doing it."

Artemis's lips quirked up and she applied a little pressure to his chin, telling him to look up. Then she carefully shaved under his chin. "Now's the most dangerous part," she said a little teasingly as she swiped away the final line of shaving cream cleanly. She smiled at her handiwork and Wally tilted his chin to face her again.

"Your hair," he said suddenly. Artemis's eyebrows met in the middle before she realized what he was saying. She reached back and pulled her hair over her shoulder finding it singed and blackened at the ends from getting hit with the sword a few times and getting pulled. "It's all burnt," Wally said. Artemis shrugged.

"It's just hair."

Wally reached up and took some in his hand gently, "Still..."

Artemis felt her face grow warm again and she stood up, swinging her leg back over and going to rinse the razor in the bathroom sink. "You might want to get some sleep. I've already booked our flights for tomorrow. We leave at one for Venice."

"Venice? How do you know?"

Artemis pointed to the Crest, which still sat on the bed. "See the symbol there, of the clock with the lion and the man in front? It represents St. Mark's Clock tower in Venice."

Wally went and changed then climbed into bed while Artemis got to studying the Crest and her grandmother's notebook. They stayed like that for a few hours, Wally sleeping and Artemis studying until around three when Wally turned over in the bed. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinking at the still working Artemis.

"Artemis, come to bed," he said. She looked over her shoulder at him. She had changed into sweats and an oversized t shirt and was exhausted. She opened her mouth to argue but Wally just turned down the opposite corner of the blankets and said, "You aren't a robot. You might be named after a goddess but you need sleep to function like the rest of us mortals." Artemis sighed, knowing he was right. She didn't even have the energy to laugh at his sleepy joke. She got up and crawled into bed, falling asleep almost the instant that she closed her eyes.

* * *

Artemis woke before the sun and went to sit up, but Wally grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down again.

"It'll take up two hours to get to the Cork airport. We have to be there two hours early. We can leave in an hour. Another hour of sleep," Wally mumbled. Artemis laid back down and closed her eyes, her sleepy mind seeing the logic in it all.


	5. Chapter 5

**Review, please.**

* * *

A pillow slammed into Wally's head and he groaned dramatically, waking up. Artemis's voice rang out.

"Rise and shine, teach. We have to be at the airport in two hours time or we'll miss our flight."

Wally groaned again but sat up, scrubbing his face with a bandaged hand. "Don't you ever sleep in?" He complained. Artemis looked confused.

"I sleep till seven when I'm not working."

"That's not sleeping in." Wally had to dive out of the way as his bag came sailing towards him from across the room. He looked up to see Artemis dressed and ready to go, her hair in a lazy bun to hide the unevenness of it from being scorched. She was also holding fresh bandages and the jar of cream for his hands. She came over and sat next to him on the bed.

"If you were just going to come over, why'd you have to throw the bag?" Wally complained. Artemis opened up the bandage, seeming pleased with the progress. She looked up at him.

"So you'd stop whining, you big baby," Artemis said. She looked back down to his hands, "I'm glad it didn't start to blister. That would've been bad." She re-bandaged them after applying more cream. "We'll buy some gloves you can wear in St. Mark's if they haven't faded a bit by then."

They packed up the few belongings they had and checked out of the hotel then got onto a large bus that would take them to Cork. Wally slept through most of it, still exhausted by the night before. He was pretty sure Artemis didn't sleep a wink in the whole two hours. He didn't understand where she got all that energy from, honestly.

It took them an hour and a half to get through the buzzing security and they only just had time to run and get muffins and coffee for breakfast before getting on the plane. This time, they both slept through the trip. Wally was in the aisle seat so he propped his arm up on the arm rest and slept on that, while Artemis leaned against the window. They only woke up when they touched down at Venice Airport.

They gathered their luggage then got into a cab. Wally didn't speak any Italian so Artemis did all the talking and soon they were off to Venice. The cab couldn't take them very far into Venice, of course, but Artemis said they could walk the way.

"Did you book a room at the hotel already?" Wally asked. Artemis shook her head.

"No. I have a friend we can stay with instead, if you don't mind. Her family owns a house here and she likes to come here for inspiration. She's a writer. You know, one of those free spirited types. She calls it 'chasing the story'." Wally nodded.

They walked through the cramped streets of Venice; it was all faded colours and cobblestone and every second alley was actually part of the canal. Wally wasn't sure how, but Artemis led the way through the streets confidently, knowing exactly where she was headed; the entire place all looked the same to him. It didn't take them long to reach house B08. It was cramped between two little shops, tall, like every other building in Venice, and a soft orange colour. It was on the edge of the canal, only a five foot wide walkway separating them. Artemis raised her fist and knocked.

The door swung open to reveal a pretty raven haired woman with pale blue eyes. They widened when she saw Artemis and she launched herself at her, taking the blonde into a tight hug. Then she pulled back and kissed Artemis on each cheek.

"I haven't seen you in months, Artemis," she said, her tone teasingly scolding. Artemis laughed.

"Last I remember, you were the one who left the country first." She laughed and finally seemed to notice Wally.

"Oh, sorry," Artemis said, "Zee this is Wally West. Wally, this is Zatanna Zatara." Wally held out for his handshake but Zatanna ignored it and kissed him on both cheeks then gave him a hug.

"I can't help it," she said in apology, "I'm a hugger."

Wally laughed, "Don't worry about it. I'm a hugger too, but I guessed a friend of Artemis..." He trailed off and Zatanna laughed.

"Nah, I get it. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Wally. You must be the cute professor Rocket told me about. She said Artemis was travelling with one," Zatanna said with a wink. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Please, don't inflate his ego anymore."

Zatanna turned her attention back to the blonde, "I see you're still wearing that terrible hat." Artemis pulled down her fedora protectively.

"I love my hat."

"It was a gag gift, sweetie," Zatanna turned to Wally to explain, "We got it as a joke for when she got the job at the museum. You know, an Indiana Jones kind of thing. But she kept it." Wally chuckled.

"I kept it because I love this hat!"

"Doesn't explain why you bought the whip."

"The whip comes in handy!"

Zatanna laughed and threw an arm around Artemis's shoulder. "Now, no need to get defensive, Indy. Come in, both of you. I've got plenty of room." She released Artemis and led them right to the stairs, "I'll make lunch while you guys change. Then you can fill me in on all the details of whatever you're after this time." She led them to a room and opened the door, revealing a huge double bed. "This'll be good for the two of you, right?"

"Zee." Artemis said.

"What, you aren't sleeping together yet?...I'm _kidding_," She said at Artemis's expression. "Wally, this can be your room. Artemis, yours is right next door over here," Zatanna led Artemis off and Wally went into the room. It was large and had its own bathroom, which was surprising because the front of the building looked so cramped and squished.

Wally just finished changing out of his travel worn clothes when there was a knock on his door. Artemis came in, wearing shorts and a tank top. Her hair was down.

"Hey," She said, leaning in the doorway. "You wanna head out soon? If we leave in the next hour we could probably make the next tour at the clock tower." Wally nodded and stood.

"Can I check your burns first?" Artemis asked. It was more rhetorical because she ended up going towards him and unwinding the bandages as she spoke. She bent her head over them, hair falling freely around her face. Wally watched the hair at the base of their skull shift, the bottoms of her hair charred and black.

Zatanna came in with a tray that held three bowls of cereal on it at that moment. She took one look at Artemis's hair and Wally's hands and set down the tray. She put her hands on her waist.

"Alright, what the hell happened to you two?"

Artemis smiled innocently.

* * *

Zatanna had demanded every detail, so they gave it. By the time they finished their explanation, it was almost an hour later. They ate while they talked and afterwards Zatanna dragged Artemis out of the room, saying she would fix her hair, while Artemis mouthed for help at Wally over her shoulder. Wally waved goodbye with a laugh while Zatanna promised to come back with some special ointment for Wally's burns. It supposedly worked miracles.

Wally took out the Crest and studied it, comparing diagrams from the journal to the Crest. The journal itself was fascinating but made little sense. A lot of it was composed of short sentences, written in a hurry or as a reminder. Things that seemed to hold meaning were scattered throughout it, such as "that which belongs to heaven, returns to Earth" and "follow the rules of time" and "good things come to those who wait but better things come to those who pursue them". There were also silly little mundane things such as "meeting at nine" without a date or an indication to who she was meeting with and "buy milk".

Wally had been staring at the "that which belongs to heaven, returns to Earth" for ten minutes, trying to decide if it had any true meaning to it when Artemis came in. Her hair was cropped short, halfway between her shoulder and her chin, and it bounced up naturally in soft waves. She looked thoroughly disgruntled.

"Artemis, your hair," Wally said, shocked. Artemis sighed, running her fingers through it roughly.

"Don't remind me. It was singed so high up she had to cut almost all of it off to make it all even. I can barely even braid it now."

"It looks great," Wally said honestly.

Artemis looked at the mirror above the dresser and bit her lip at her reflection. Her voice was quiet, "Are you sure?"

Wally stood up and tucked a stray lock behind her ear from behind. He looked over her head at her in the reflection and smiled, "Of course. Besides," he said with a laugh, "You'd look beautiful bald." Artemis returned his smile a little tentatively, first in the mirror then she turned to look back up at him. Wally looked down at her and smiled a little wider.

"See?" Both jumped back from each other when Zatanna appeared from the doorway. She was holding a jar and looking between the two as she smirked. "I told you, Artemis." She walked over to them and held up the jar, "Here's the cream I told you about. Apply it before bed and when you wake up. Those burns will be healed in no time." She handed Wally the cream, which he thanked her for. She waved it off, "I've got a date in an hour. We had reservations for six but he ended up getting tickets for this play he's been wanting to go to. Anyways, my point is you guys should take them. It's a nicer place but it's cheap and the food's good. It's just outside of the Piazza San Marco, where your clock tower is." Wally and Artemis exchanged skeptical looks. Zatanna rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, just go. You kids deserve to have some fun."

Wally looked back at Artemis, "It couldn't hurt."

Zatanna threw an arm around Wally, "Cute _and_ smart. This one's a keeper." Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Zatanna grinned hugely. She grabbed Artemis and began to pull her out of the room."Where are we going?" She asked.

"To get you ready," Zatanna said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You only have half an hour to get ready and be there in time." She looked back over her shoulder, "Do you have a suit?" Wally nodded slowly. "Good. Put that on." Then she left with Artemis, who turned around giving Wally a slightly scared look. Wally almost laughed at that; fire monster coming at her and she's calm, but the moment Zatanna mentions dressing up she looks alarmed.

Wally rubbed the back of his neck then sighed. He went to his suitcase and pulled out the suit he had brought, just in case. It was simple and classic, tailored to fit. The button up shirt was classic white and the black tie was thin. He somewhat tamed his perpetually messy hair and fastened on his lightning bolt cuff links that his Uncle Barry gave him when he graduated. Then he headed downstairs to the entrance hall to wait for Artemis. He didn't have to wait long.

She came down a few minutes later. Artemis was wearing this short dress that was both edgy and elegant at the same time, with silver zippered pockets and a short leather jacket over top. It was the colour of the sea at midnight and brought out the steely grey of her eyes. Her tights were lace and her shoes were black high heels. Zatanna had somehow braided her short hair along the bottom of the back of her skull. Wally's jaw dropped a little. Artemis's dark red lips curled up into a smile.

"Ready to go?" She asked. Wally closed his mouth quickly.

"Yeah," Wally nodded. Artemis went to stand next to him while Zatanna waved from behind her.

"You kids have fun. Don't stay out too late!" She called out jokingly. Artemis rolled her eyes and Wally held the door open for her. They went out into the cool Venetian air. The sun was already setting and it was a little colder out than it had been earlier, but it was still fairly warm. Wally offered her his arm and she took it as they began to walk.

"You look good," Wally said. Artemis looked at him and smiled.

"Thanks," She said. "I like your cuff links." Wally grinned.

"You sure like leather, huh?" Wally joked.

Artemis was barely holding back a smile, "You got a problem with it, West?"

"Nah, any girl who can pull off leather and a dress is good in my books."

Artemis let out a quiet laugh and rolled her eyes at him. They exchanged quick smiles before Artemis looked back to the direction they were walking. "The restaurant's just over here." Artemis led them through a few turns until they came to a large square that buzzed with people. The two went into the restaurant, where Artemis did all the talking, and the hostess led them to their seats. Wally pulled out Artemis's seat for her and she looked at him curiously but thanked him all the same. They sat by the front window, facing into the square, and the hostess handed them their menus and left with a smile. Artemis translated the menu then ordered for them.

"So. Valentine's day is in a couple weeks. Got any hot dates planned?" Wally asked while they waited for their food. Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I'm just making conversation," Wally said. Artemis studied him for a moment, then shook her head.

"No. No dates. Surprisingly, not many men that I've met can appreciate a woman who can kick their ass." Wally laughed. "What about you? Any plans?"

"Nah. I'm always too wrapped up at the university."

"I know what you mean. It's kind of hard to meet people in my line of work."

"Didn't you meet Zatanna on a job?"

Artemis nodded. "I met Zatanna in France. I was looking for a lost sculpture by a Frenchman named Villard de Honnecourt and went to the university to see if they could help me. When the stuffy professor of arts denied me, his star student offered to help. Zatanna and I wandered the old French catacombs for hours before we found finally found it. There was a room behind a wall of bones and it was full of old art. We gave the French all of it except for the sculpture. The board of arts was kind of pissed about it, but they didn't argue very much."

"Key words: very much," Wally said.

"They're still bitter about it. They have my passport flagged so they know whenever I'm in France and sometimes they tail me. It's easy to lose them." Wally thought back to the night those men had come to his house and he didn't doubt her ability to lose them. "Zee's dad is a travelling magician; her dad has a house here, she uses it more than him, and he has one in the U. S, where Zee grew up. She's a big believer in magic and the supernatural and all that cause of him."

"Really?"

"Consider it fair warning. She'll probably try to make you believe too."

"So you don't believe in magic then?"

Artemis shook her head lightly, "I believe that if I can see it and if I can touch it, then it's real. What about you? Believe in magic?"

"Nope. I believe in science. If science can prove it, then I believe it."

"So until it's proven, it's disproven?" Wally nodded. "That's a little narrow minded, don't you think?" Artemis teased.

Wally winked. "You still think I'm a stuffy professor?" Wally joked.

"No, I just think you're an idiot," Artemis shot back with a smile.

"But you still like me."

"You're still an idiot." Wally laughed. He lifted his wine glass up. Artemis raised an eyebrow, still smiling curiously with her lips pressed together.

"To being an idiot?" Wally offered. Artemis laughed and picked up her wine glass to clink against his.

After that, Wally asked to hear more of her adventure stories, to which Artemis was only happy to oblige. But if Wally was honest, he'd have to say he missed a few. Her already dark red lipstick was distracting enough but when she sipped her red wine, her lips were only stained darker. It really didn't help Wally's cause. And maybe it was the very epitome of clichés, but he captivated and distracted by not only her lips but her eyes as well. They were one of the first things Wally noticed about her that day that she came into his classroom. Then, they had been mysterious, intriguing, and the exact grey of clouds before a storm; later that night they were steely and wild. In Ireland at the castle they had been vivid and focused and now they were warm and smoky. But they always had this _spark_ that was so distinctly _Artemis _that Wally could define it in no other way.

When the cheque came, Wally tried to pay for it all but Artemis would have nothing of it.

"I'm perfectly capable of paying for my half myself, thank you," Artemis said after he offered. He'd given up after that.

It was cooler outside than it had been when they went into the restaurant but Artemis didn't seem to mind. Wally offered her his arm, which was a bit of a mistake because a chilly breeze hit them and he shivered almost as soon as she took it.

"Cold?" Artemis asked with an amused eyebrow raise.

"A little," Wally admitted, "I'm from Central City. We don't get much cool weather there."

"I'm from Gotham," Artemis said. Those blood red lips quirked up beautifully, "We thrive in the cold. Come on, the Piazza is just up ahead." They slipped through a few streets and came into a large, old square dominated by a basilica at one end. Even at eight o'clock, when most of the places around there were closed, the place was crowded. "This square is one of the oldest places in all of Venice. The church still runs, as does the bell tower."

"It's beautiful," Wally said. Artemis nodded her agreement.

"Let's go find the clock," Artemis said, pulling his arm gently. It wasn't hard to find it. St. Mark's Clock tower, or _Torre dell'Orologio_ as Artemis said in Italian, was huge. Its bottom had a large archway and multiple golden statues stood throughout. The clock face was a deep blue with golden arms and black roman numerals. At the very top of the tower was the statue of a white winged lion, one paw on an open book. He recognized it as the lion that stood in front of the clock face on the Crest and Wally could see why Artemis knew it was this place right away.

"There used to be a man facing the lion. A statue of Agostino Barbarigo, who was the doge or duke of Venice, was kneeling in front of the lion originally. But it was taken down when the French invaded and Venice surrendered." Artemis told him.

"So the Crest is somewhere in there?"

"Most likely."

"It's going to be a bitch to find."

Artemis nodded. "Definitely."

They approached the archway and walked inside, finding the entrance to the tower. There was a sign in Italian, French, and English that advertised tours of the tower, but there were no phone numbers or websites listed.

"We'll probably have to come early to get on the tour," Artemis said. Wally groaned.

"I knew you were going to say something like that."

The two left the square and began to walk along the canal on the way back. The canal was beautiful, with the lights reflecting off the black water, and the lone gondola that floated past gracefully every so often. The streets weren't that busy, but the lone couple or family would go by every so often.

Wally stopped suddenly and Artemis looked back at him, still holding his arm. "What...?" She narrowed her eyes at the gondola station they had stopped at. "No way."

"Come on, _pleeeease_. I've always wanted to do this. I'll pay." Wally practically begged. Artemis crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Fine," she snapped. Wally smiled hugely and Artemis looked a little alarmed. The gondola driver, who thankfully spoke English, took Wally's money and held the gondola still for them to get in. Wally offered his hand but Artemis ignored it, getting in gracefully on her own. The same, however, couldn't be said for Wally. He stepped in and the gondola drifted a bit from the dock while one of his feet was still planted on the dock. His arms flew out to regain his balance and the driver pulled the boat back, causing him to fall into it. Artemis laughed.

Wally stood up quickly and sat next to her, his face going hotter than the bonfire from the night before. Artemis bumped her shoulder against his gently and he relaxed a little. The driver pushed off from the dock and they were on their way. They glided down the canal, under tall arched bridges and around sharp corners. The first ten minutes of the ride passed peacefully and even Artemis seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Duck your head," Artemis said suddenly, turning towards him quickly. Wally ducked his head down, as she told him.

"Why?" Wally asked.

"Miss Crock. Mr. West. What a surprise." Artemis let out a breath Wally hadn't realized she'd been holding. They both sat up straight.

"It's doctor," Artemis and Wally said at the same time. Pedro Cortes stood at the top of a bridge, three men on either side of him. They all had guns trained down on Wally and Artemis. This street was an empty one, the canal wider for locals who parked their boats on the edge. Wally heard a gun cock behind him and turned slightly to look at the driver, who also held a gun.

"Stand up slowly with your hands on your heads," he said gruffly.

Artemis moved her hands to her head. "You just _had_ to go on a gondola ride," she bit out. Both stood.

"How'd you find us?" Wally asked.

"We followed you. We thought we lost you at one point, but then we found you in the restaurant. You clean up well, Professor. As do you, Miss Crock."

"I wish I could say the same for you, but I'm not big on lying." Artemis bit out. She spun faster than Wally could blink, grabbed the oar from the driver, smacked him with it so he fell into the canal, then propelled them under the bridge with it. Artemis shoved Wally into a speed boat and jumped in after him as the gondola continued. Wally could hear Pedro curse and his men bolt to the other side of the bridge while Artemis ripped off the key panel of the boat and cut two wires with a pocket knife from her jacket, touching them to each other. The engine gunned to life and Artemis spun it around, bolting down the way they'd come. There was swearing and shouting from the bridge, then shots were fired. One clipped the back of the boat but the rest sunk into the canal. Wally turned around to watch the driver climb out of the canal and jump up and down excitedly, pointing to the other boats that lined the edges of the canal.

"We're about to have company!" Wally warned. Artemis looked back over her shoulder and Wally noticed she gripped a gun in one of her hands. "Where'd you even hide that?!" Wally said, indicating the gun.

Artemis's crimson lips quirked, "Wouldn't you like to know." She looked back over her shoulder. "Why do they have a machine gun?! Why is there always a machine gun?!" Machine gun shots rang out and Wally looked back to see one of the men wielding one. "How do they even smuggle it in?"

"How do you smuggle your gun in?" Wally asked. He'd been wondering since they boarded the plane in Cork. Artemis watched her driving.

"It's not hard. Come take the wheel." Wally looked back and saw Pedro and his men had started the engines and they were spinning around to chase them. Wally took the wheel from Artemis and she kneeled down on the back bench, leaning her arm down onto the back of the boat to stabilize it. She shot at them and they returned fire. Wally turned sharply down an alley, then another, then another.

"Turn here!" Artemis yelled, the boats still a turn behind them. Wally did as she said and turned. "Park here, I know a place we can duck into." He pulled over and got out, Artemis only climbing out after him after she left the engine running and letting it drive away back the way they'd come. Artemis started down into an alley at a brisk pace and Wally followed, glancing behind them. They turned into a squished little pub and Artemis pulled him to the bar with her. The pub made by for its small sized by pushing everything closer together including the chairs, tables, and even the bar. The sat at the bar and Artemis ordered two drinks, handing over some coins. Artemis only spoke to him once, to ask if he'd been hit. She'd leaned close and with their chairs so close together that their legs brushed against each other, her lips had brushed his cheek. Wally had to physically remind himself how to talk. After that, Wally watched the window in the reflection of some bottles; he knew Artemis was doing the same. Minutes later, Pedro's men bolted past. They waited a few more minutes, then left the pub.

Artemis's gun was tucked under her jacket in her hand and she crossed her arms to make it seem more casual. They went back the way they came, towards the canal, and turned down another alley.

"We need to get back to Zee's," Artemis said. Wally nodded his agreement.

"We also need to find out how they followed us." Wally said. They turned down another alley, only to be faced with Pedro and two of his men. Both groups stopped, equally shocked. Artemis recovered first, whipping out her gun and firing two shots. Both her and Wally turned and bolted and despite the danger of their situation, Wally was amazed by Artemis's ability to run so fast in those heels. Pedro's men recovered quickly and ran after them, causing Artemis to turn and shoot back while running every so often. One went down from a shot to the shin and another from a shot in the thigh. It was just Pedro following them now, and they turned the corner. Artemis shoved Wally against the wall and stood beside him, closest to the corner. The second Pedro came around the corner, he tripped over her foot and slid on his stomach.

Artemis took her time walking over to him and Pedro looked up to see her shoes, looking up at her face with a sneer. Artemis bent at the waist and grabbed his shirt, forcing him to scramble up.

"This is for Peru," was all she said before punching him across the jaw. Pedro crumpled to the ground, unconscious. "Now we're even," she told him. She looked back at Wally, "Let's go before he wakes up."

Thankfully, they made it back to Zatanna's house without running into any more thugs. Artemis still insisted on walking for half an hour before even going near though, just to be sure they had shook them. Artemis opened the door with a key Zatanna must've given her and the two walked inside. Wally locked the door and Artemis took off her shoes. They both went to the living room, where a light was on, and expected to find Zatanna. Instead, Kaldur and Raquel sat on the cushy chairs inside, Kaldur reading and Raquel flipping through the television.

"Hey," Artemis said and the two pilots looked up.

"Hey," Raquel said.

"Hello," Kaldur said with a pleasant smile, "How was dinner?"

"Delicious," Wally answered for her. "When'd you guys get here?"

"Just after you left," Kaldur said.

"And judging by your still put together appearances, you haven't got the next piece? But you were chased." Raquel said, eyeing Artemis since she had one hand on Wally's shoulder for balance while the other was massaging her foot. Wally held her shoes.

"No and yes. We're getting it tomorrow and Pedro's here. He followed us from Ireland." Wally had a sudden idea.

"Artemis, does Zatanna have a computer?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can I use it?"

"Sure...It's over here." Artemis let go of his shoulder and led him to the dining room, which had more or less been converted to an office. Artemis typed in Zatanna's password and Wally logged onto Skype. The call was immediately picked up by a black haired man wearing a suit with a blue tie.

"Hey Wally," he said automatically. Then he saw Artemis and grinned. "And Dr. Crock."

"Dr. Grayson," she said. Wally swung to look between them.

"You look lovely," Dr. Grayson said. Wally swung to look between them faster.

"Thank you," Artemis said with a small smile.

"You guys know each other?" Wally blurted.

Artemis gave him a look, "I spend most of my time at Stanford when I'm not in the field. Grayson here caught me breaking out of the restricted section of the library a few times," she shrugged.

"Of course he did," Wally said, rolling his eyes. But he was smiling, so it was more good natured than anything. That didn't stop Artemis from punching his arm. Dick looked between the two.

"Is there anything I can help you with? I have a class in an hour."

"Oh right, time change. Well the thing is this guy's been chasing us since Peru-"

"Peru?"

"-Yeah, Peru, and we need to lose him. I was wondering if you could help make a fake paper trail that makes it look like we've left the country."

"So he'll follow," Artemis said, looking at Wally. "That's brilliant. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Face it, Artie," Wally said, tucking his hands behind his head, "You'd still be in Peru without me." Artemis rolled her eyes dramatically.

"And you'd be stuck in that first passage in Iantu without me."

"You'd be angry fire demon meat without me."

"Please, I had that situation under control. At least I can shoot a gun without jumping three feet in the air."

"Did you see my driving in the canal back there? It was awesome."

"What about my driving in Palo Alto?" Despite their tones, both were grinning.

"If you two are done," Dick said and both snapped back to looking at the screen. "I've got everything ready. Just need to know where you're going."

"China," Artemis answered without hesitation, "There's lots of speculation the Crest is in China. He won't question it." Dick nodded and continued typing. Artemis turned to Wally. "I'm going to bed; it's getting late and we're leaving at sunrise tomorrow." Wally groaned. "Besides, my feet are killing me from those stupid shoes. Goodnight, teach." She looked at the monitor, "Night, Grayson." Dick said goodbye and Artemis went to leave the room, but she stopped in the doorway.

"Hey, Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Tonight. It was fun. Even the chase part," she smiled. Wally returned it.

"Well, thank you too." She looked confused. "It was fun for me too," Wally answered with a warm smile. Artemis returned it tentatively then left the room.

"So. You weren't kidding about looking for the Crest," Dick said. Then, "Were you two on a date?"

If Wally had been drinking something, he would've spat it out. "Of- of course not! Why?!"

Dick raised an amused eyebrow at his reaction, "Because you're wearing a tux and she's wearing a dress. And you have some of her lipstick on your cheek." Wally looked into his camera's image and saw a smear of red lipstick on his cheek. Wally rubbed it off.

"No, we just went for dinner." Wally answered.

"Ooookay," Dick said, obviously not believing him. Blessedly, he decided to change the subject. "Last time I saw you was five days ago. What have you guys been up to?"

That was a mistake. For the next twenty minutes, Wally told him a very detailed play by play of their journey so far ("She actually charged the pendulum and jumped on it, then smashed it through the wall!") and, ("And then, she just jumped up and kicked it in the face, then landed like it was no big deal!") and, ("Then she triggered the traps on purpose to slow the thing down!") and so on and so forth.

"Then she picked him up by his shirt and said 'This if for Peru' and she just punched him. Pedro was knocked unconscious and she was all 'Now we're even' then walked away like it was no big deal. It was _awesome_."

"Sounds like a fun date to me," Dick mumbled.

"What was that?" Wally asked, snapping back to reality.

"Oh, nothing," Dick said airily. "All of your stuff is in order. You're supposed to be on a plane right now to China. After I sent that in, I got a notification that someone named Cortes tried to buy tickets for the same plane but couldn't, so he's getting on a different airline for the same time."

"Thanks, Dick." Wally said.

"You can pay me back by giving me updates on Artemis."

"Artemis? Why?"

"I've got to go. Talk to you later." And just like that, the call ended. Wally wondered what he had meant for a moment, then shook his head. Some things that come out of Dick Grayson's mouth are best ignored. Wally should know; he's his best friend.


	6. Chapter 6

**Enjoy and review.**

**-RoyalVictory**

* * *

Wally got up at six thirty, the alarm blaring beside him. He slammed his hand down onto the clock and sat up, scrubbing his face. He could hear Artemis moving around next door, already up and about.

Wally saw his hands and had to do a double take. He'd put that balm that Zatanna had given him the night before, and even though his hands were an angry red with a blister or two then now they were a soft pink and the blisters were completely gone. Zatanna was right; it worked like magic. Wally grinned.

He stood and walked to his bathroom, where he closed and locked the door and turned on the shower. He ditched his boxers and got in, letting the hot water pour over his face. He turned his head and let it hit his neck and shoulders, then bowed his head forward and let it wet all of his hair. Wally turned and accidentally knocked over the shampoo, causing it to crash and start a chain reaction with the conditioner, then tripped over it all, falling loudly, and somehow managed to step on the soap while trying to stand up, causing it to fling across the room, past the shower curtain and hit the wall audibly. Wally sighed at himself and stood up, turning off the shower and opening the curtain to go get the soap.

Suddenly, his door slammed open and Artemis stood there, aiming her gun. Wally felt himself go beet red.

"Um...can I help you?"

Artemis lowered her gun, "I thought I heard a scuffle." Then she saw the knocked over shampoo and soap. Her lips quirked. "Did you _win_?"

Wally felt himself go even redder, if possible. "Do you mind...?"

Artemis smirked, "Of course not." She looked him up and down slowly, "Not bad," she said, before turning around and leaving, closing the door behind her.

Wally let out a groan then got back in the shower, closing the curtain and turning the water to as cold as it would go.

* * *

Wally came down the stairs, finding Zatanna in the kitchen making breakfast while Kaldur read the paper at the table. He nodded in acknowledgement and Zatanna turned around, smiling brightly. Artemis sat at the table with Kaldur, wearing a black tank top and her cargos, her hat on her head. Her whip was at her hip and her gun sat on the table. Her hair was in a short ponytail.

"How was dinner?" Zatanna asked with a grin.

"It was good," Artemis said slowly. She looked suspiciously at Zatanna and sent a curious glance to Kaldur, who just smiled and shook his head. Wally went for the eggs Zatanna placed on the table, but Artemis shook her head quickly and he paused. He looked at Kaldur, who also shook his head. Wally grabbed some cereal instead and poured some for Artemis before pouring himself some.

"What are you up to today?" Kaldur asked.

"We're going to the clock tower to get the Crest. We'll either leave when we get back or tomorrow, if we get it," Artemis said. Wally nodded his agreement.

"Hey, Zatanna?"

"Yeah?" Zatanna said, seating herself beside him and taking a large helping of eggs.

"I left my Skype open on your laptop. If my friend Dick messages about Pedro Cortes, can you tell us?"

"Sure. I'll be home working all day anyways," Zatanna said with a shrug.

Wally and Artemis left twenty minutes later, setting out straight for the Piazza.

"So why wasn't I allowed to eat the eggs again?" Wally asked.

"Trust me," Artemis said. "I was doing you a favour. Zee's not the best cook."

Wally and Artemis went into the clock tower and found a secretary sitting behind a large desk, painting her nails in electric blue. She looked up with a bored expression when they walked in, but sat up straighter when she saw Wally.

They both walked up to the desk and Artemis spoke. "We need to book two spots on a tour." The secretary shook her head.

"We full."

"All day?" Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"All month. Come back in July," she said. Her eyes flickered to Wally. She smiled at him and went to open her mouth, but Artemis grabbed his sleeve and pulled him away to the entrance way. The secretary watched curiously until Wally couldn't see her anymore.

"You need to distract her so I can find the entrance," Artemis said.

"Me? How?"

Artemis rolled her eyes, "She was checking you out the second you walked in. Go flirt." Before he could argue, Artemis had shoved him back into the entrance hall. Wally cleared his throat and the girl behind the desk looked up. She smiled. Wally smiled back and walked forward, leaning his elbows on the high front of the desk.

"Hey. I'm Wally."

"I am Catherina," the girl said, batting her eyelashes. "You American, yes?"

Wally's smile became a little more forced, "Yeah, I live in California."

Catherina let out this high pitched giggle and crossed her arms, pressing her breasts together, "Catherina like American boy."

"Uh...thanks?"

Catherina stood up, "American boys very cute." Quick as a snake, she grabbed his collar and pulled him forward awkwardly and pressed her sticky lips to his. They had barely been there a second and Wally hadn't even really realized what was happening when someone cleared their throat behind him. He pulled back as fast as he could and Catherina looked surprised. Wally looked over his shoulder to see Artemis, tapping her foot and arms crossed with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" Artemis's tone dripped with sarcasm. Wally carefully pried away Catherina's fingers from his shirt and stepped back, walking to her.

"No," he said, shaking his head.

"Huh," Artemis said disbelievingly. She turned on her heel and walked away, Wally struggling to catch up and Catherina looking very confused. She led him down the hall in silence.

"Are you mad?" Wally asked.

"Why would I be mad?" She snapped back harshly.

"You sound mad."

"Well, I'm not."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"You still sound mad."

"I'm just wondering when 'flirt' started to mean 'kiss'."

"You're mad about her kissing me? Because that's what happened: _she _kissed _me. _I didn't kiss back."

"Whatever, West."

"Wait, are you _jealous_?"

She stopped at a janitor's closet, "I am _not_ jealous." Artemis said as she opened the door and turned on the light.

"Are so." Wally said as he following her in and closed the door.

"Why would I be jealous?"

"Why don't you tell me?" Wally looked around the janitor's closet. "This is it?" Artemis rolled her eyes dramatically then pushed on the trim on the door. The floor on the other side of the closet slid away to reveal a grate. "Oh."

"Uh-huh. Come on, lover boy."

"_Jealous_."

"I am _not_ jealous."

"You know, green's a cute colour on you."

Artemis glared before pushing away the gate and stepping down into the passage. Wally followed after her. The second he stepped down, the gate slammed shut and the floor went back over the hole, cutting off all light.

"I don't think we're getting back out that way," Artemis's voice said. A light flicked on, momentarily blinding Wally. "Oops," Artemis said as she directed the flashlight away from his face again. She didn't sound sorry.

Artemis shone her flashlight down one side of the tunnel, finding a metal grate. The opposite end was open so they continued down that way. It was cold and damp in the tunnel, the walls made of cracked, filthy marble. Artemis finally spoke ten minutes in.

"Do you smell that?" She said.

"What?"

"It smells like salt water."

"Uh, Artemis? We're in Venice. The entire place smells like salt water."

"I guess," she said but she didn't sound convinced.

They continued down the hall until they came to the end, where only a small hole was in the wall. Artemis shone her flashlight down, but it was too dark to see what was there.

"I'll go first," She said. "Wait for my call." Before Wally could argue, she had swung her legs into the hole and slid down it. Wally watched the light disappear into the darkness and held his breath. There was a splash and Artemis called up.

"Alright, come on. Careful, it's steep and there's water down here." Wally got in and shot down the tunnel; it was smooth but wet, the combination making the entire place extremely slippery. The slide ended abruptly and amazingly, Wally landed on his feet. Artemis was standing there, hand on her hips. The water was up to her knees and just under his. Artemis gestured with her head and they went down the direction she indicated.

The water slowly rose as they walked. Whenever they had to walk through a doorway or another hole that served as a doorway, the water only got higher. Wally counted six of them before the water was up to his waist and an inch above the hem of Artemis's shirt.

"How to we know we aren't just walking into the canal?" Wally asked past the seventh entrance. The water was freezing against him and Wally could see gooseflesh on Artemis's arms and shoulders.

"If we were walking into the canal, the tunnel would be filled completely. Something must be blocking it. Besides, this water is nowhere nearly as filthy as it could be." Wally looked down at the black water. He wasn't so sure about that last bit.

"Artemis, look," Wally said. Artemis looked back questioningly and Wally carefully took the arm that was holding the flashlight and pointed it up at the top of the entrance. Artemis tilted her head and squinted at it. She bit her lip.

"It's in Latin," she said finally.

"Can you read it?" Wally asked. She handed him the flashlight and went to climb up in the doorway, standing on the threshold and holding onto the lip of the hole so she was level with the faded, worn down words.

"I've never been good at Latin," she admitted. "I'm not sure what those are," she said pointing to two words, "But ignis is fire and aqua is water." Wally held out a hand for her and she let him help her down, stepping back into the water with a bit of a splash. "Let's keep going."

Wally went through the hole first, the water rising to his bellybutton. Artemis followed quickly after, the water going up to about where her ribs would end.

"Do you think those words meant anything?" Wally asked. Artemis shook her head.

"I'm not sure. Probably not." She shivered suddenly, but tried to suppress it.

Wally put a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stop and turn to look at him. "You alright?"

"Fine. A little cold never hurt anyone." She looked down at his arm and found rough goose bumps. "Are you?" Wally nodded. "Good. Let's keep going."

They went down this tunnel and found this hall ended differently. Instead of another hole or doorway, there was a large stone slab. Artemis felt along the wall and found edges.

"There'll be a lever somewhere. Feel along the walls," She told him. Artemis took one side of the door while Wally took the other. Wally offered her the flashlight but she shook her head, "You take that. I can feel blind."

Wally and Artemis felt around the doorway, looking for any lever or switch. Wally's fingers brushed over some stone that felt distinctly different from the rest. He brushed his fingers over it again then pushed it in. The door began to move up slowly, allowing more water to come in the room. Wally and Artemis stepped back and the door finished opening. Wally handed Artemis the flashlight when she held out her hand for it and she walked into the room first.

"Shit," Artemis said. Wally followed right after her. Artemis looked over her shoulder at him, "Don't touch anything." The water was a little higher in here but he didn't really notice because he was seeing what Artemis had. Her flashlight was trained on the wall, where hundreds of carnival masks completely covered the walls in uniform rows. The light reflected off the masks and gave the room a low glow.

"That's not creepy at all," Wally said dryly.

"Dammit!" Wally jumped at Artemis's sudden curse and looked to see what was wrong. Artemis had her flashlight trained on a platform, very similar to the one in Peru with five separate layers, except this one had nothing but a large rock on it. Artemis looked over to Wally. "It was Cortes. He'd lied about following us here. Ugh, I'm such an idiot."

"Don't blame yourself. Artemis. Just think of his face when he gets off that plane in China, realizing we're nowhere near him." Wally said, trying to make her feel better.

"But he'll have two pieces of the Crest and we'll still only have one."

"Hey," Wally walked towards her and lifted her chin up gently with a curled finger. "Don't sound so negative. You said it yourself, we'll just steal it back later." Artemis sighed.

"I guess." She smiled a little, "I have done it seven other times before."

Wally grinned, "See? That's what I'm talking about." He gently tapped her jaw with his fist and she turned her head slightly, her smile growing a little. "Come on, beautiful, let's go back." He turned around.

"Beautiful?" Artemis's smug voice asked. Wally froze.

He whipped around, "I meant, uh. Well, what I was trying to say was, um..." He leaned against the platform where the rock sat, trying to look casual. Unfortunately, he ended up accidentally knocking the rock off. The top of the platform sunk into itself. The stone slab fell back over the doorway. Wally looked up at Artemis with wide eyes. "It was an accident!" He blurted.

"_How many times have I told you not to touch anything?!" _Artemis snapped. She bolted to the door, feeling around for any switch or lever. There was a deep groaning and water began to pour in streams out of the empty mouths and eyes of the masks. Artemis worked double time and Wally went to help her.

Artemis stepped back, "It's no use. There's no lever on this side. Search the walls, there might be a failsafe." The two split up and began to feel along the walls hurriedly, the water rising incredibly fast. It was soon high enough to be above their heads and they treaded water in the middle of the room. Artemis had dropped the flashlight but they could see it below them, shining from the bottom.

"Ever been in anything worse?" Wally asked Artemis.

"Yeah," Artemis admitted, "But this is definitely in the top five."

Wally forced out a bit of a laugh and glanced down. A huge black shadow went past the light and he jumped. "Did you see that?!" Artemis looked down to the light where he had been looking and the shadow passed over it again.

"I saw that. And I think I know what it was," Artemis said. "Try to stay as still as you can."

"What is it?" Wally asked, slowing his treading slightly.

"You won't believe me."

"Yes I will!"

"Wally, no offence, but you're very narrow minded."

"I'm not narrow minded."

"I think it was a crocodile."

"A crocodile?! We're in the middle of Venice!"

"See? Narrow minded."

Something heavy brushed Wally's leg and he jumped.

"What is it?" Artemis asked quickly.

"Something brushed my leg," Wally said, straining to see down into the water, but they could onto see about a foot around the light, nothing else. Wally jumped as it happened again.

"Come over here," Artemis said, reaching her arm out. Wally took it and swam over to her, above the light of the flashlight. The water kept rising. Wally and Artemis looked down under them, straining to see it under them. "Wally," Artemis said, her voice barely a whisper. Wally looked up and followed her gaze to see the distinctive outline of an crocodile, not ten feet from them on the other side of the room. It lifted its head and hissed.

"Why is it hissing?" Wally asked.

"It's just a warning. It wants us to stay away. Just don't scare it." It hissed again and came a little towards them.

"Scare _it_?" Wally asked. It hissed once more then submerged itself.

"Whatever you do, do not let it grab you and pull you into the water. And _do not _let it roll," Artemis warned.

"Wasn't planning on it," Wally said. It brushed his leg and Wally shot back; Artemis, seeing what happened, leapt back in the opposite direction. It brushed his torso this time and resurfaced in front of him. The crocodile hissed.

"I thought they weren't supposed to attack unless provoked?" Wally whispered.

"We _are_ provoking it. We're in his territory," Artemis answered. The crocodile hissed again and advanced towards Wally. Surprisingly, it didn't get far. Artemis had used the masks to lift her up and out of the water enough to leap and grab onto the crocodile's face, wrapping her arms and legs around its mouth.

"Artemis!" Wally shouted. Artemis beat the crocodile with her fist on its snout. It thrashed, unsure of what to do. Wally was slammed in the chest by its tail and flew into the wall. Artemis held on.

The crocodile dove, Artemis still on it. Wally shouted her name again and dived after them. He resurfaced seconds later, took a deep breath, and tried again. Another figure slammed into him and Wally recognized the blonde hair. He wrapped and arm around her waist and pulled her back to the surface. Both gasped for air when they broke it.

"What happened?!" Wally demanded. He hadn't let go of Artemis, his arms around her back and hers on his neck. Artemis shook her head quickly.

"I don't know. Something must've spooked it, cause it slammed me into a wall and swam into a hole. The hole closed right after it got through."

"Maybe you scared it off."

"There's no way. I surprised it, pissed it off at most. Something scared it. That's what I'm worried about."

Without warning, there was groaning and one of the walls swung away. Wally and Artemis yelled as they were carried by the water past it and into a tunnel. They gripped onto each other as they shot through it, the water carrying them at breakneck speeds. The tunnel was completely pitch black and every turn disoriented Wally more; the only thing Wally was sure of was Artemis holding onto him. The suddenly emerged into the sunlight, blinding Wally, and flew out of the tunnel and landed in the canal. They fell down deep and let go of each other, grabbing wrists instead, and swam to the surface. Both let go of each other and treaded the water, struggling to catch their breath. Wally watched Artemis swim a little way away to retrieve her hat, which had flown out of the tunnel after them. She joined him at the edge of the canal, where he propped a foot on the wall and lifted her up onto the sidewalk by her waist so that she could catch herself by her elbows and help pull herself up. Artemis turned around and helped pull him up. They stood up and Wally hugged Artemis tightly, tucking her head into his shoulder. They just stood like that for a minute, ten minutes, Wally wasn't sure. By the time Artemis pulled away, their breathing had returned to normal and they were both racked with shivering. Her hat drooped in the front from being soaked, dripping down onto her nose occasionally. It was kind of adorable.

"Let's get back to Zatanna's." Artemis said. They were starting to attract looks and it was probably best if they didn't hang around. Wally nodded his agreement and they hurried down the sidewalk.

"Did you just wrestle a crocodile?"

* * *

Artemis was furious by the time they made it back to Zatanna's place and Wally could tell why. Mostly at herself for not getting the piece before Cortes, but also Cortes because he got it before her. She was also freezing, like him, shivering violently. Wally had put his arm around her and pulled her to his side when they were halfway back to Zatanna's and Artemis put her arm around him in return. They were both glad for the extra body heat.

Artemis slammed open the door, disturbing Kaldur and Raquel, who were in the living room, while Wally followed obediently. Kaldur took one look at them and left the room, returning seconds later with towels.

"Didn't get it?" Raquel asked. Artemis glared. "I'll take that as a yes." Zatanna came into the room and Wally explained what had happened.

"You wrestled a crocodile?" Raquel asked.

"What's important is that we didn't get the Crest. And we have no idea where to go next," Artemis said.

"Well, if you'd stop fuming and listen for a minute, you'd know that Pedro hasn't left Venice yet," Zatanna said. Artemis stood a little straighter, Wally noticed with some amusement.

"He's still in Venice?"

Zatanna nodded. "His flight was delayed and none of his aliases got a ticket for anymore flights. Dick checked the security log and he went through but didn't come out. He's still in there and his flight doesn't leave for another two hours."

Artemis thought for a moment, "Do you still have those carnival costumes?"

* * *

One hour and two very hot showers later, Artemis and Wally were at the airport. Artemis had put on an emerald green gown with a fitted bodice, huge layered skirts, and elbow length gloves. Wally's costume was a matching shade of green with a fitted coat and black pants. Their masks were both black with green accents and covered their entire faces.

They fit in at the airport the second they walked in. The place was crawling with Venetian carnival goers, even though it wasn't going to start until the next day.

"I'm still not sure about this. What if he recognizes us?" Wally said as they approached security.

"Don't worry, he won't. Our masks cover our entire faces and he doesn't know my hair is short now. It was up last night, he wouldn't have been able to tell."

They made it through security with a few smiles and laughs on Artemis's part and found the gate where Cortes was waiting quickly enough. He was practically yelling into his phone in Spanish, furious his flight was cancelled.

"Wait here," Artemis told Wally and she approached Cortes. He could only just hear her over the crowded airport. "Ciao," she said and Cortes looked up at her. He closed his phone.

"Well hello there."

Artemis did something Wally was sure she wasn't physically capable of. She giggled. "You come to carnival, lots of fun," she said in her perfect Italian accent.

"Only if you'll be there," Cortes said in a tone Wally guessed was supposed to be seductive. He didn't miss the way his eyes never left her chest.

"Too kind," she handed him a flyer from the stack she had swiped off a booth in the front of the airport, "It be much fun. Oops!" She 'accidentally' knocked over Cortes' laptop bag. As he bent to pick it up, Artemis dug one hand into his other bag. She found the two pieces of the Crest immediately and pulled them behind her back as Cortes sat up again. Wally took that as his cue to come forward and discreetly slipped the pieces into a bag as he passed.

"Much sorry!" She said. "Ciao!" She turned around after Wally looked to see her coming towards him. "Quickly, before he realizes they're gone," Artemis said. They hurried back outside.

"Did you get them?" Zatanna asked from the driver's seat. Artemis got in the passenger seat and Wally got in the back.

"Yep." Wally answered victoriously.

"Nice," Zatanna said as she drove off. They made it back to the garage in twenty minutes and they all piled out of the car; it took them another fifteen to reach the house. Wally and Artemis went up to change into sweats and t shirts while Kaldur and Raquel had made a dinner of soup and sandwiches. They came back downstairs and everyone ate at the table together. Wally recounted the story of Imbolc and Castle Brighid for everyone while Artemis added in some things that he forgot or missed. Afterwards, everyone split up to do their own thing. Kaldur, Raquel, and Zatanna all left the house to walk around town for a bit while Wally and Artemis opted to stay back. Wally went to his room to relax and read while Artemis settled herself in the living room with the three pieces of the Crest and her grandmother's journal. Wally came downstairs an hour later to find she was still working away. He leaned in the doorway.

"You know, there's this thing called relaxing. You should try it sometime," he said. Artemis continued to study the pieces.

"I relax when I'm not working."

"When are you not working?"

"I take a couple days off between jobs," Artemis said, looking up finally. "Hey Wally, come look at this."

Wally came over to her and sat down on the floor beside her. She pointed out one triangle on the inside of each of the pieces, one facing up and two facing down with one facing down having a line through it. "See these? These are old alchemy symbols for three of four elements. Fire, water, and earth." She held up a book, "According to this book, the words we saw in the tunnel were Latin for the four elements."

"That's weird."

"What?"

"In Iantu, I saw four words on the platform: samay, tamya, nina, and allpa. I was curious, so I looked them up. They mean, roughly, the air, the rain, the flame, and the soil. Air, water, fire, earth."

"And that's not all," Artemis said. "Think of the locations: first was Iantu Utiyu, a cave in the middle of the Amazon, then Castle Brighid, a castle for the goddess of fire, then Venice, the sinking city."

"And the traps: buried in sand, stone statues; fire arrows, lava monster; crocodile, drowning."

"Even the dates. Remember how I said I started because that was when the journal said to? We had exactly the right amount of time in the Amazon in order to make it to Ireland for Imbolc."

"The mask room. Carnival starts tomorrow."

"Exactly. When that place was built, I'm willing to bet everything that carnival was today. The date shifts all the time. What if the reason no one has found these places is because they are only accessible on certain days of the year? My grandmother planned _everything._"

"Makes sense," Wally said as he nodded. "The Elemantari'i were all about the elements. They thought they held some big power when they were combined. They even took their name from the Latin elementum."

"I think that the supposed power that the Crest has, has something to do with the elements. That's why I think the next piece is in Caracol. It's a Mayan archaeological site in the country Belize. It's the only place in this entire journal that could possibly fit that description."

"That's brilliant, Artemis," Wally said with a genuine smile. Artemis blushed a little. Wally took the journal from her gently and closed it while Artemis looked up with a confused expression. "Today you've wrestled a crocodile, took a swim in the canal, stole three huge pieces of gold, and cracked the code behind the Crest.. Now, you need to relax. Watch some mindless television. You're only human."

"But-"

"No, no buts. Come on," Wally said. He helped Artemis up and she sat on the couch, half heartedly protesting. He handed her the remote.

Artemis yawned, "We'll leave at-"

"Sunrise, I know."

Artemis raised an eyebrow, "I was going to say ten but if you don't want to sleep in-"

"No, no that's fine." Artemis laughed quietly and Wally grinned. Wally gathered the pieces of the Crest and the journal and went upstairs to hide them where Artemis hid the piece from Ireland before. He came back downstairs to find Artemis lying down on the couch, already fast asleep. Wally smiled down at her and went and grabbed a blanket. He was on his way back to the living room when the door opened, admitting Raquel, Kaldur, and Zatanna. Wally quickly pressed his finger to his lips and the others took the message to stay quiet. He continued to the living room. Kaldur and Raquel both went upstairs while Zatanna followed him to the living room and waited in the doorway.

Wally didn't know she was behind him watching as he draped the blanket over Artemis. He brushed some stray hair out of her face and turned around, finding Zatanna there.

"She's lucky to be travelling with someone like you," Zatanna said quietly. Wally approached her and looked back at Artemis.

"I'm lucky to be travelling with someone like her. I would've been dead ten times over without her," Wally whispered back.

"Yeah, we all would be. But still." Zatanna stood up straight. "Good night, Wally."

"Night," he said, watching as she headed towards the stairs. Wally took one more look at Artemis then went up the stairs.


	7. Chapter 7

**So I was going to reply to reviews and work on an original story today but then Young Justice happened and now all I want to do is a) eat ice cream b) write and c) figure out what to write (not necessarily in that order). I will reply to the reviews and everything this weekend, I promise. Thanks for reading/ reviewing/ looking/ whatever. **

**-RoyalVictory**

* * *

"You work out, right?" They were on the plane having left Italy hours ago at ten local time. Artemis and Wally were in the back, Wally fiddling with his journal and the Crest pieces and Artemis watching him. Wally looked up at her question.

"Uh, yeah. How'd you-"

"Wally, I've seen you naked."

Wally went bright red. Artemis quirked an eyebrow. "Oh. Right," he buried his nose back into his book. He lifted his head back up, "Wait, why?"

"Why have I seen you naked?"

"No, why do you want to know if I work out.?"

"Oh. I was just wondering if you could hold your own in a fight, that's all."

Wally sat up, his manly pride kicking in. Artemis's lips quirked up a little at the thought. "I can so."

"You know how to throw a punch? A proper punch, not the ones you see in movies." Wally suddenly looked very interested in the table he sat at. "You don't know how to throw a proper punch?" Artemis stood up after a moment and Wally looked at her curiously. "Come on," she shed her jacket and hat and set them on her chair.

"What are you doing?"

"Showing you how to throw a punch without shattering your hand. Come on." Wally raised an eyebrow but stood and went over to her anyways. "First, you want to make a fist. No, thumb outside or you could break it on contact. Yeah, like that. Hold your fists up like this," she said, demonstrating. She held both fists up, her right higher than her left, and her elbows tucked in. Wally mimicked her stance and she tweaked it a little. "Just like that. Your dominate hand is higher than your other one. The one you won't use for punching will stay back to guard your chin and your elbows are tucked in to protect your ribcage. Your legs will be a little bent, like this, and your lead foot will be slightly in front of the other, like this. You always want to move on the balls of your feet to be as fast as possible. Yeah, just like that. That's the stance you'll use when in a fight." Artemis relaxed her stance and so did Wally.

"For the actual punch, put your thumb across the top of your fingers like that. Now, you always want to throw with your dominant, unless you're going for a double. When you're going in for the actual punch, use your whole body, not just your arm. Pivot on your foot like this. Yeah, just like that. Try to make contact with your first two knuckles. Everything else will break a lot more easily." Artemis circled him and nodded at his form. "Good. There's four basic types of punches. The jab," she demonstrated, "the cross, the hook, and the uppercut," she demonstrated each then Wally tried. She made some minor tweaks on them, but otherwise they were well done. "Show me again," she told him. He did so. She smiled. "Good job. And remember: aiming for the face usually ends in broken knuckles, especially if you hit the jaw. If you really need to hurt someone, hit them in the chest or throat."

Wally stood up straight and smirked at her, "But you hit Cortes in the face." Artemis shrugged with a small smile.

"It was either that or the groin. I took pity." Wally laughed. "Alright, now hit me."

"What?! No!"

"Wally, just hit me. It won't hurt, I promise."

"I am not going to hit you."

"Is your name _really _Wally?"

"Still not going to hit you."

Artemis held up her open palms and patted the inside of one, "Hit me. Right here. It won't hurt."

"Artemis, I will not hit you." Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Wally, it's not going to hurt me, I swear."

"_No._" It went on like this for fifteen more minutes before Artemis finally won by convincing him it'd help both of them in they got into a fight. At first, he barely tapped her but as he got more and more sure he wasn't hurting her, he began to hit a little harder. Finally, he was winding up to strike her as hard as he could, but he always pulled it at the last second (much to Artemis's annoyance).

They arrived in Belize a few hours later, at one o'clock local time. Kaldur and Raquel stayed with the plane by the unpaved runway while Wally and Artemis set off with their packs on foot. They found a small town buzzing with people going about their daily business not too far from the plane. There they hitch hiked to the outskirts of the jungle surrounding Caracol in the truck bed of a rusted blue vehicle. The occupants of the truck were husband and wife, both very nice and polite but mostly kept to themselves, with was fine with the doctor and the field archaeologist. The road was bumpy but Artemis leaned her head back onto the wall of the box with a smile and closed her eyes, revelling in the feeling of the wind whipping past her and the clear, cold air that filled her lungs. It was too loud for either her or Wally to talk, but when she peeked to look at him, he was lying against the wall of the truck bed in across from her, his eyes closed. She had to admit: she'd pinned him for a city slicker from the start. But he was adjusting incredibly well to the whirlwind change of environments and she kind of appreciated that.

The couple dropped them off on the outskirts of the village and the two waved their goodbyes as the truck drove off. Artemis turned around and faced the jungle. She glanced up at the sun and noted its position then looked back at the jungle. "We go this way," she said and began walking. Wally followed closely behind.

"Where are we going?"

"There's a village not too far in. It's supposed to be friendly to travellers and doesn't mind them staying overnight. We'll start to Caracol in the morning."

Wally and Artemis started into the jungle, Artemis breaking out her machete again for when the jungle got too thick. They both knew the drill by now: Artemis would clear the way and use the sun to tell their direction while Wally navigated with a map he had pulled from Artemis's bag for her. It took them about an hour, but they started to hear the chanting of the villagers soon.

It was like they had stepped a hundred years back in time; the village was all little wooden shacks and fire pits throughout the place. A river streamed past the South end, probably from another larger river. The only modern part of the village were the clothes the people wore. Wally and Artemis wandered into the village and were immediately welcomed by some of the villagers.

Artemis greeted them in their language, to which they responded back in English. Artemis and Wally introduced themselves and when they went in for handshakes, they were taken into huge hugs.

"Welcome to our village," the taller one, Azeem, was the shorter one's father, Azeem Jr. They brought them around, introducing them to the bulk of the village. By the time they had finished and Artemis and Wally had asked and answered every polite question, it was dinner time. The villagers were eating some kind of wild game while Wally and Artemis pulled out some canned food and heated it up over the community fire. The fire was huge and along with the torches that were stuck in the ground randomly throughout the village, lit up the entire place once the sun set.

As they were eating, someone brought out some drums and some kind of flute. Some villagers began to play them while others danced around the fire. Those who were playing the instruments also sang in their language with high, throaty voices.

"What are they celebrating?" Wally leaned over to ask from his spot on the log they shared.

Artemis leaned over and watched the festivities with him while she spoke, "The stars above them. The food in their stomachs. Their lives," She looked over at him, "Take your pick."

Wally and Artemis finished eating, Wally rinsed out the bowls and put them away, then came back to sit with Artemis. They watched the dancing for a bit longer before Wally stood up and offered his hand to Artemis. Her eyebrows shot up. She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"No way."

"Aw, come on Artemis. Live a little."

"I danced in Ireland. I am not dancing again."

Wally sighed dramatically. "I guess I'll just have to dance around you." Then he proceeded to dance (very badly) within a foot of her person, while Artemis fought so hard not to burst out laughing that she thought a vein was going to pop. She settled for crossing her arms more tightly. Wally pulled off all the cheesy dance moves in his arsenal, including the 'shopping cart', 'milking the cow', and even going so far as some pelvic thrusts. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. Artemis stood up and placed a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"I'll only dance if you stop that right now," she said. Wally laughed and took her hand.

"If you insist."

The dancing here was a lot different from Ireland; there it was more uniform and traditional while here was more of a free for all. Artemis and Wally started off with some kind of modified swing dance, which changed to them switching partners with some locals, then going back to each other for one of the more fast paced dances. The locals did lots of clapping and hip shaking, so Wally and Artemis just followed along (neither had trouble keeping up). But mostly, they just held hands and spun and twisted together, finding a comfortable sync between them.

All was well until about an hour later when Artemis's eyes went huge at something behind Wally. She let go of him and scrambled onto the log they had eaten dinner on, pointing. Her mouth was open but all that was coming out were little mumbling sounds. Wally whipped around, expecting to see a tank or an army or some kind of strange animalistic beast or something much, much worse. Instead, he found a snake.

A local had picked it up and draped it around his shoulders and was spinning and dancing with it. He didn't look scared in the slightest. The snake itself looked bored. Wally grinned and looked back at Artemis.

"Something scares the fearless Artemis Crock? It's about time," Wally said. Artemis glared.

"I _don't_ like snakes," Artemis said through gritted teeth. The locals, hearing her, laughed.

"Just Whipsnake! Not even poisonous!" The local who had the snake on his shoulders said. The other villagers began to laugh and Artemis glared. The snake hissed and she sunk back a little. The locals let the snake go after a few minutes once they had their fun and went back to dancing, forgetting Artemis's previous embarrassment.

It took Wally fifteen minutes to coax Artemis back to her feet (her pride was badly bruised) and another twenty to get her to loosen up and dance again.

"Want to tell me why you don't like snakes?" Wally asked. To his surprise, Artemis didn't immediately brush him off with a snarky comment.

"One crawled out of the bath drain when I was a kid. It bit me and I had to go to the hospital for stitches," she answered. She spun on Wally's hand then they resumed their original position. "I've still got the scar."

"Is that the one on your shoulder?" Wally asked without thinking. He heard his words as he said them and, thinking he sounded like some kind of creepy stalker, went a deep red then looked down at his feet. Artemis didn't seem to notice. She shook her head.

"No, that's from a castle in Russia. The scar from the snake is on my calf."

Once the village children were all in bed and the music had slowed, Wally and Artemis stood swaying on the spot. Her head was on his shoulder and her arms were around his neck and his around her waist. They swayed together on the spot while other couples did either the same or their own type of couple-y dance. They only stopped when the music did and climbed straight into the tent. Kaldur had offered to lend them a second tent, but they opted to share one because it'd be warmer and easier to carry.

Artemis helped Wally apply the balm to his burns (which were now almost completely gone, thanks to it) and they extinguished their lamp and laid down next to each other.

"Goodnight, Wally."

"Sweet dreams, Artemis."

* * *

They woke up bright and early the next morning, ate, and left the village with a fond goodbye. They were up before sunrise in order to beat anyone else to Caracol; they didn't need any nosy tourists getting in their way. Artemis had shown pictures to Wally and she'd been here before so she snuck a glance at him as the ancient city came into view. His jaw dropped and Artemis smiled, looking back to the Mayan ruins.

It was magnificent; the smallest temple stood at thirty three meters tall and the largest stood at forty two meters tall. It was the largest archaeological site in Belize and most of it had been overgrown and lost to the jungle, only to be found by a woodcutter less than a hundred years earlier. It had three plazas around a kind of town square with two sports courts and several other small structures. Artemis led them to the largest structure, which was a massive pyramid with three temples on top.

"This is Caana," she said as they went up the stairs. "I was reading about it before we left Italy. Guess what its name means."

"What?"

"Sky place."

Wally looked at her. "This is getting a bit weird; all the little things the Elemantari'i planned out, I mean."

"Usually, when things get weirder, we're getting closer," Artemis said. They exchanged smiles. It didn't take them long to get to the top of the building (Artemis insisted they jogged it and when Wally refused because it was too early, she made it a competition – he won). The sun was just rising over the trees and they were bathed in soft pink light. Even Artemis, who had seen some of the most beautiful things in the world, was a little mystified.

'This is why I could never leave this job," she told Wally quietly. He nodded his agreement. Artemis shook her head, reminding herself that they had a job to do.

"Let's split up. I'll take the back, you take the front. If you see anyone coming, holler," Artemis said before going back down the steps at the back of the temple. She wandered along the back wall, feeling for anything that might point to where the Crest was hidden. She ripped away at vines with her machete when she needed to and very slowly read glyphs where she could. The bottom level of the back of the temple held nothing so Artemis continued to the left side. She found four doorways, all of which were mostly destroyed or filled with rocks, only leaving about a foot of free room to enter. She climbed up a little unsteadily onto some of the collapsed rock, which wiggled randomly beneath her. Artemis approached one doorway and leaned heavily against the wall of the temple, cleaning the top of the doorway with her leather jacket sleeve. She began to see a shape and squinted at it. A rock shifted beneath her and she stumbled, having to grab onto the door frame to keep her balance. Artemis steadied herself again and studied above the doorway. She scrubbed it with her jacket again and found a rough drawing of a lizard. She thought for a second, then balanced over to the next door, where she repeated the process. There, she found a vulture. Artemis had to skip over the third door because the top of the doorway was completely smashed in and the doorway itself was full of rock, but on the fourth she found a fish. She teetered back on the rock and pulled out her grandmother's journal from her bag. Artemis opened it to a dog eared page, then looked back at the carving in front of her. She looked up to where Wally was.

"Wally, get down here! I've found something!" Artemis saw Wally look over the top of the temple at her then leave to descend down the steps. Once he was down, he climbed carefully over the rocks and met her at the second door. She handed him the journal on the right page and he looked at it, then the symbol above the door.

"It's the same one," Wally said. Artemis nodded.

"One of those symbols are above every door. They were symbols often used to represent the elements: fish for water, lizard for fire, and vulture for air. This door's our best bet." There was maybe a little over two feet of room that wasn't blocked by rocks and Artemis and Wally had to ditch their bags, only bringing a satchel with the pieces of the Crest and the journal with them. Artemis went through first, squeezing through on her back, then Wally followed.

The room was warm and dusty, with wild foliage climbing along the walls, along with various tarantulas, spiders, and small animals exploring it with them. Corners were governed by brown recluse webs and the floor was mostly stone but foliage from the walls crept up on it, like large fingers trying to claw their way down. The middle of the room was dominated by a huge stone slab, completely covered in foliage and whatever hid beneath it. Artemis flicked on her flashlight and lit Wally's way so he could land without twisting an ankle, then they both turned to the room. Wally turned on his own flashlight and they wandered to opposite ends of the room.

"Careful with the webs in the corner. Recluse bites are nasty," Artemis warned.

"Nasty by your standards or a normal person's standards?" Wally asked as he examined one.

"Mine."

Wally stepped back quickly, "Pretty terrible then, huh?" He went over to the slab and examined it. "This is the only thing in the room that's out of place." Artemis wandered over to him. She took her machete out of its sheath and poked away some of the foliage. There were little drawing all over and evidence that it had once been painted.

"But that doesn't make sense," Artemis said.

"What?" Wally asked.

"This is a sacrificial stone. But this place isn't a religious one, and most sacrifices preformed were outside in Mayan culture. It was more for the kings than the gods; like a 'hey look at me, I'm a good king because I'm sacrificing people.' My point is, Mayans rarely sacrificed. _Especially _in private."

"Maybe it's not that. Maybe we should try to move it."

"Exactly what I was thinking," Artemis said with a smile. She chopped away more foliage to discourage any animals from hiding inside and both braced their shoulders against the fat lip on one side.

"Ready?" Wally asked.

"Wait," Artemis said, noticing words etched on the side of the slab. "There's something written here. Blow?...No...Breath. Breath of...birth? No, breath of life." She looked up at Wally, "Why would they write breath of life on a slab life this?"

"I'm not sure. Want to find out?" A smile crept onto Artemis's face. Instead of answering, she braced her shoulder against the slab again. "Ready?" Wally asked for the second time. Artemis nodded. "Alright, on three. One...two...three!" They pushed together, but the stone didn't budge. They tried again, but to no avail. Artemis sighed and stood up and Wally stopped pushing when he saw her stand.

"Wait here," Artemis said. She went back to the entrance and crawled out the hole on her stomach and grabbed her bag while still half in the room. She pulled her bag toward her and zipped it open, shuffling around in it until she found her crow bar. Artemis slid back into the room.

"Do you seriously just carry a crow bar around with you everywhere?" Wally asked when he saw it. Artemis smiled sarcastically.

"Oh, ha ha. You're hilarious." She handed it to him, and he looked confused. "You're stronger than me," she said as explanation. Wally took the crow bar.

"Thanks." Artemis shrugged.

"I just want to get the Crest." Wally smiled anyways.

He propped it under the lip of the stone while Artemis leaned her shoulder against it again. "On three," Wally repeated. "One...two...three!" They both pushed. The stone lifted slightly, but that's all the encouragement the two needed. They pushed harder and Artemis felt a sweat break on her brow. With one final shove, the stone slid off, disrupting dust and animals alike. Artemis kicked a tarantula that had landed on her shoe off lightly and stood up straight. Wally was grinning at her.

"After you," he said with a point from his flashlight. Artemis returned his smile. She looked down into the hole that had been revealed by moving the slab and found it pitch black and had to shine her flashlight down in order to see the first step. She swung her leg down over the platform that had held the slab and descended the stairs. The floor was so far down that it took five sets of five stairs just to get to the bottom. A light breeze met Artemis at the bottom, shaking loose hairs on her face lightly.

Artemis waved her flashlight around the room while Wally came down the stairs behind her. She walked over to a wall and grinned.

"What is this place?" Wally asked.

Artemis looked back at him as his light trained on her. "Take a guess," she turned and shone her light on the skeleton. Wally jumped back. Artemis picked up the skull, "Judging from the bones, these are from the Mayan era. Looking at the pelvic bone, this one was female. Maybe fifteen to twenty years old." She looked back at the pelvis, "She gave birth before she died."

"I don't know if I should be impressed or disturbed," Wally said, wandering over.

"Definitely impressed," Artemis answered with a smile. She put the skull down and picked her flashlight up again. Wally shone his light on the wall, revealing more skeletons.

"How many do you think there are?" Wally asked. Artemis's eyes followed his light.

"Dozens. Hundreds. It all depends on how many rooms are connected onto this one."

"Artemis?"

"Yeah?"

"Every place we've been to so far has some kind of maniac demon monster thing guarding the piece. Or a crocodile. You think anything is down here?"

"Chances are pretty good," Artemis answered grimly.

"There's a hallway," Wally said, pointing his light. They went down together. About halfway through, Artemis stopped. "What's-" She strained to hear as she slapped her hand over Wally's mouth, silencing him.

"Hear that?" Artemis asked. _Click. _There it was again. Wally froze and she knew he heard it too. They stood stock still for a minute, both straining their ears. When nothing happened, Wally reached up and carefully took her hand off his mouth. She looked up at him, startled.

"It's probably just some animal. We should keep going," he said quietly. Artemis nodded. He still hadn't let go of her hand and she looked down at it. He let go of it quickly and Artemis tore her eyes from his face and looked down the hall. They continued down and found the end quickly. Artemis hesitated at the door, shining her light into the next room. It was hard to see any waiting traps when they couldn't see five feet in front of them.

_**Crack!**_

"Artemis!" Wally yelled as he tackled her out of the doorway. She landed on her back with him on top of her and the two slid back, away from the door. Artemis looked just in time to see a large blade fall through the doorway, right where she had just been standing. She looked up at Wally.

"Thanks." Her heart was racing.

"Don't mention it," Wally said, "You okay?"

"Fine. Thanks," Artemis said dumbly. She smiled a little and Wally returned it.

"You already said that," he said, "But you're welcome anyways." Then he rolled off her and helped her up.

The floor seemed to drop an inch and they stumbled, but kept their footing. Light seemed to come from nowhere, illuminating the room. There were two thin pillars by the entrance and there was a large open hallway at the other end of the hall. There was another loud crack and both Wally and Artemis whipped around to see more blades fall in front of the doorway that they came from, completely blocking the door.

"Guess we aren't going out that way," Wally said. Artemis was about to voice her agreement when the wind started. It was no more than a breeze at first like back in the burial chamber, gently brushing over their exposed skin but it quickly picked up so that it was whipping at their clothes. They stumbled over to each other as the wind picked up even more. Artemis pulled her hat down on her head further to prevent it from blowing off. Soon, the wind was kicking up her feet as she fought to keep them planted. Wally grabbed her suddenly and pulled her roughly between him and one of the pillars. She got the message and grabbed the pillar while Wally wrapped his arms around her, grabbing the pillar with her. The wind picked up even more and Artemis _felt _herself being sucked into the second hallway, her legs finally unable to hold onto the floor any longer. Wally floated behind her, holding the pillar so that if she let go, he'd catch her, which was some comfort but Artemis was never one to seek comfort. She sure as hell wasn't about to start now.

Artemis forced herself to ignore everything around her and think. She tried to remember every little thing she knew about the Mayans and she tried to think of where the failsafe could possibly be. Her eyes shot open.

"WE HAVE TO LET GO!" Artemis screamed over the wind that threatened to suck them into the passage.

"WHAT?!" Wally responded, hearing her just fine.

"JUST TRUST ME!" She felt Wally nod against her shoulder. "ON THREE! ONE! TWO! THREE!" She let go. Wally let go a split second after her, giving him enough time to wrap his arms protectively around her. They shot back into the second passage and literally flew down a passage. Then, they stopped.

The two doctors just floated for a second, before dropping down onto a large, circular platform. Wally grunted as Artemis landed on him. She apologized quickly and helped him up. He rubbed his head.

"We are not doing that again," he grumbled.

"Wally?" He looked over to see what she was staring at. The final piece of the Crest was floating above a large flat platform, which was also floating.

"Artemis," he said. She looked back at him to see him pointing to the edge of the floor. She approached it and found the room wasn't a room at all. The floor had a long drop off and the room was actually yet another hovering platform. It drifted up and down gently.

"How's this even working?" Wally asked. Artemis carefully approached the Crest. She put her hand over it and felt it get pushed up, wind beating against it. Artemis looked back at the watching Wally.

"Air." She turned back to the Crest and carefully took it in her hand and pulled it away. She heard Wally let out a breath. Then the platform began to move. Artemis instinctively grabbed onto the podium where the Crest had been and she leaned on it while she stuffed the Crest into her satchel. Wally stumbled over while the platform continued to move. He made it to her and held onto the podium with Artemis while the floor beneath their feet continued to move. It hit a wall and jolted, causing Wally and Artemis to stumble. The wind picked up suddenly again as the wall they hit opened. They didn't even have time to grab something this time. Artemis's hat flew off and Wally and Artemis followed close after. They literally flew back into the burial chamber, the wall slamming behind them. Artemis's hat drifted down and landed on Wally's head.

Artemis, who still had a hold on her flashlight, stood up and found Wally, who had her hat tipped over his eyes. Artemis couldn't help but laugh before helping him up. He took off the hat and placed it securely on Artemis's head.

"Here, Indiana," Wally joked, "Did you get it?" Artemis nodded and a grin broke out onto Wally's face. He hugged her suddenly and Artemis felt her face go red hot.

"Um, Wally? We're in the middle of a burial chamber. We can celebrate later," Artemis muttered into his shoulder. Wally just pulled back and held her at arm's length.

"Sorry," he didn't sound sorry at all. "I can't believe we did it! We've got all four pieces of the Crest!" Artemis rolled her eyes but smiled. They walked towards the exit and Artemis gestured to the hole.

"After you."

"Don't mind if I do," Wally said with a grin. He climbed up the rock pile and wiggled out the hole. Artemis pretended not to enjoy the view, then followed out after him.

"Artemis!" Artemis froze halfway out of the room. Someone had pressed a gun right between her eyes, and Artemis gave herself three guesses to who it was. The metal was cold against her skin, but that wasn't why goose bumps rose on Artemis's arms. She could see two men struggling to tie up Wally in the corner of her eye. He had been forced to his knees just off the rocks and on the grass. Duct tape hung off the side of his mouth, as if it had been forced on then shoved off.

"Slowly," Cortes said. Artemis carefully climbed out of the hole and raised her arms, placing them on her head. She was shoved off the rocks and onto the grass, where she landed on her stomach next to Wally. He struggled against the two men holding his upper arms harder and Artemis slowly sat up. She went to her knees next to Wally and someone behind her began to bind her wrists. He pulled it tight and she grit her teeth.

"Too tight?" His breathy voice whispered to her from behind.

"Not even close," Artemis spat back. He tied them a little tighter. Artemis knew she'd have deep purple bruises on her wrists after this. Someone had refastened the tape to Wally's mouth but Artemis guessed the loud mumbles were mostly death threats and swears. Cortes smiled and kneeled in front of her, pressing the gun to her temple. He took her satchel and she spat, her saliva landing on his cheek. Cortes scowled and slapped her _hard_. Artemis's cheek stung and Wally's mumbling increased in speed and volume.

Cortes pressed the gun harder into her head. "Good job, Miss Crock. I'll have to thank you for the leg work. But how did you manage to steal my pieces?" He asked. Artemis smiled then spoke in a perfect Italian accent.

"You come to carnival, lots of fun," she repeated her same words from the airport. Cortes smiled but pressed the gun even harder into her head. She practically felt the bruise forming.

"Where's the Court of the Elemantari'i?" Cortes demanded.

"The what?" Artemis asked. Wally finally managed to shove the tape off again.

"She doesn't know," he said.

"I don't know what?" Artemis said without turning her head.

"Legend says that the Crest has to be put together in the Court of the Elemantari'i or it won't work. Which is ridiculous, because _there is no such thing as magic_," Wally said, directing the last part at Cortes.

"I've never even heard of it. What makes you think I know where it is?" Artemis said.

"We both know as soon as the good professor explained, a place popped into your pretty little head." He pressed the gun harder, if that was even possible. "Where is it?" Cortes said. Artemis stayed silent and just stared at him. Cortes _clicked_ his gun. "I'll ask again. _Where_ is it?"

"You really think I'm scared of a bullet?" Artemis said with a sneer.

"Alright," Cortes said with a smile. He shoved her over so she fell to her side, away from Wally. Cortes grabbed Wally by his hair and dragged him forward, in front of Artemis. He pulled his hair and pressed the gun to Wally's temple.

"I'll ask one more time. Where is it?" Artemis's jaw tensed.

"Artemis, don't-" Wally managed out before Artemis cut him off.

"Hawaii. It's in Hawaii." She sat up, throwing her weight to one side and getting back to her knees.

"Hawaii?" Cortes said. He pushed his gun further into Wally's temple.

"On the big island, there's a place called Pu'ukohola. It's ruins of a Hawaiian temple and has a statue of their god of water, Kiako. In his hands, he holds all the elements in balance. That's where you'll find the Court of the Elemantari'i," Artemis explained. Cortes smiled again.

"See? Now was that so hard?" Artemis glared, unwilling to meet Wally's eye. His expression was so hopeless. She was worried it was contagious. Cortes continued, "Very clever, Miss Crock. Now, I'm not going to make the same mistake as before."

"What's that?" Artemis asked.

"Keeping you conscious." Cortes pulled the gun back, then brought it forward as fast as he could so the barrel of the gun slapped her on her left temple. She felt an explosion of pain blossom there and heard Wally yell the beginning of her name before all she knew was falling and darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope you enjoy it. Please review.**

**-RoyalVictory**

* * *

Artemis groaned and Wally was careful not to move. She was leaned against his chest, balanced between his arms, which were bound around a pole in front of them. Her wrists were bound around it too, with the same kind of plastic ties. They had originally been put on opposite sides of it, but Wally had gone around it to prop her between his legs and arms, leaning her against his chest instead of having her either leaning again the harshly cold pole and making the bruises from the gun barrel worse or leaning back and committing murder to her wrists. Artemis had been knocked out ever since Cortes had pistol whipped her outside of Caracol and Wally had tried to make her as comfortable as he could. Unfortunately, he couldn't do much.

Artemis groaned again and Wally looked down at the blonde. "Ugh, my head," Artemis complained.

"You okay?" Wally asked. Artemis sat up quickly, then realizing it was Wally, leaned back against him and relaxed completely, turning her face into his neck.

"Wally," she said, sighing quietly. It wasn't a question. Her breath was warm and tickled around his Adam's apple. "I thought he was going to kill you," Artemis whispered against his neck.

"I thought he _did _kill you. Don't scare me like that," Wally whispered back, down towards her head.

"Agree to do the same and we have ourselves a deal," Artemis responded. Wally chuckled quietly. "What happened?"

"After they knocked you out, I carried you to their jeep. From there, they blindfolded me and we drove for an hour or two. It was hard to tell." He decided to leave out that it was hard to tell because he was too preoccupied with making sure she wasn't dead or dying. "They loaded us into a big freight plane and locked us both back here. We haven't been on here very long, not compared to the jeep anyway." Artemis nodded then sat up.

"Time to get out of here," she said. She began to look around the room, finding what Wally had: a mattress, a tiny bathroom, random broken furniture, and some empty crates.

"What? Artemis, did you miss the part about being on a plane?"

She went as close to the pole as she could and seemed to be trying to reach into her shirt, "Of course. I'm talking about getting out of these plastic ties." She sat back again. "Ugh, this isn't working. Wally, I need you to reach inside my shirt."

"What?!"

"I keep a knife in the middle of my bra. We can use it to cut through the ties. I can't get the right angle to get it." She climbed over his leg and went onto the opposite side of the pole. "It's in the middle part of my bra, where the cups connect. It'll be easy to get-" Artemis looked up at him and laughed.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Wally asked.

"You look terrified. Wally, it's you. I trust you," Artemis said, her laughter subsiding.

"Are you sure?" Wally asked. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Wally, I'm sure. Do you really want these plastic things on anymore? Just follow my sternum down. The knife is tucked in the middle."

Wally nodded and reached forward. He touched her sternum lightly and followed it down, trying to ignore the swell of her breasts on either side of his fingers and reached down until he found her bra. The blade was tucked behind it with the hilt over top. He grabbed the hilt, pulling it up slowly. Wally handed Artemis the knife.

"Now was that so hard?" Artemis asked teasingly, but Wally could've sworn her cheeks had a pink tint to them. He didn't blame her; his face was on fire.

Artemis sawed away at her bonds and they fell off quickly enough. She breathed a sigh of relief and moved onto Wally's. His were gone in a second and soon both of them were rubbing the deep red marks in their wrists, which were also paired with purple marks from the rope earlier on. Artemis stood up and began to pace the room.

"What are you doing?" Wally asked.

"I'm making a plan," Artemis said.

Wally set himself down on the mattress (which was reasonably clean once he flipped it) and studied her while she paced. There was a bruise on her temple from the gun pressing into it, a second bruise on the opposite side from being hit with the barrel, the scab on her chin was almost completely healed, and the one on her cheek was still healing reasonably well. She had shed her leather jacket, it sat next to Wally, and bits of hair had escaped her short ponytail. Every so often she'd take her hat off and shove the loose bits back under it.

The locks on the door began to click about an hour later, and both froze. Wally had moved to sit on one of the higher crates and Artemis had stopped to stand beside an old (and empty – Artemis had checked) desk. The door swung open and Wally saw that is was at least a few inches thick – probably bullet proof. There were two guards with large guns on guard outside. The man admitted was the same one who had tied up Wally back at Caracol. He was also the one who had kicked Artemis in an attempt to wake her up, but of course it hadn't worked. That's when Wally had picked her up and told them he'd carry her (he'd ripped through the duct tape again when he saw what was happening).

The man was holding a tray, "Oh good," he said to Artemis, "You're awake. Señor Cortes would like to have a word with you. In private," he set down the tray on a crate.

"You and I both know that as soon as I get anywhere near him, I'd like to pay back the favour of knocking me out," Artemis said. She smiled, "It was a cheap shot."

"Besides," Wally said as he slid off the crate, "Where she goes, I go and where I go, she goes."

"We're a package deal," Artemis told him with a sweet smile.

The man didn't look happy, "He said you and you alone or not at all."

"Then you know our answer," Wally said. The man looked like he wanted to argue, but he seemed to think the better of it. He took a cup and poured water from the pitcher in each, drank from each, and ate a little bit of everything. Artemis watched him closely.

"Señor Cortes wanted me to demonstrate that he is not trying to poison you," he stood and stared at them, unsure what to do next. Obviously, he hadn't expected them to deny Cortes' request. Wally guessed he was scared of his boss' wrath (which he kind of understood).

"_Goodbye_," Artemis said, stepping towards him. The man left. As soon as the door closed and the locks clicked, Artemis held up a key ring completely stuffed full of keys, "You think any of these could be useful?"

"He's going to notice those are missing," Wally said with a shake of his head, despite his tiny smile.

"Nah, he won't. He's too scared of us," Artemis responded as she examined the keys.

"You mean you," Wally said, bumping her shoulder with his. Artemis smiled.

The smile dropped. "I've got a plan," she told him, suddenly serious. "When we start to land, I'll start screaming. The guards will open the doors to see what's wrong. I'll take them and you run. I can jab them with the keys or something. There'll be a door not far from here and it should be easy to find-"

"And what'll happen to you?" Wally interrupted. He crossed his arms.

"I'll hold off the guards," Artemis said with an airy shrug, but the way she shifted foot to foot betrayed her, "They only need you to hold against me. As long as you're gone, they can't hold you against me."

Wally's eyebrows met in the middle and his arms dropped. "How can you even think like that? No way. I am not leaving you back here."

"Why not? I'm saving both our asses, not to mention the Court." Her previous nervousness was forgotten and now she stood at her full height, hands on her hips.

"Artemis, what do you think they'll do to you if they lost me?"

Artemis looked away and grabbed her arm above the elbow, "Torture me probably." Wally's stomach turned. Artemis's hand dropped and she looked him in the face. "Look, torture's overrated. They'll probably just push me around a bit and break a few fingers. Nothing I've never had before."

Wally felt his stomach turn, "They've hurt you before?" Artemis snorted, crossing her arms.

"Like they're fast enough to catch me." She paused, "So, are you in?"

"Of course not!"

Artemis huffed, "Why not?"

Wally's eyebrows practically disappeared beneath his fringe, "You're kidding me right? I'm not leaving you to get tortured. How can you be so nonchalant about this?" Artemis, furious, crossed her arms and stalked over to the food. She picked some up and sat on a far crate then turned away from him. Wally shook his head at her. Did she seriously think he was just going to leave her here? To be punished for _his_ escape? He took some food and sat on the mattress on the other side of the room. By the time he'd finished, Artemis was going through the empty crates a second time and he could tell by the unnecessary force she was using that she was still mad.

"Listen, Artemis," Wally said. The lid of a crate flew into a wall. "Please, just listen to me," she didn't turn to face him but stopped to show she was listening, putting down the second lid she had been holding. "I'm sorry but I'm not going to just let you stay and get hurt so I can get away. We're a team, Artemis, whether you like it or not. We work great together. Where you go, I go and where I go, you go. You said it yourself: we're a package deal." He waited, hoping Artemis would give some kind of acknowledgement, a nod or a snort or _something_. He didn't expect her to talk.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me," she said finally, still not turning around, "I've never needed it before and I don't need it know."

Wally laughed. Artemis looked surprised. "Trust me, Artemis, _I know. _I'd be dead ten times over without you. And because of that, I'm not leaving." Artemis's stiff form seemed to relax slightly. She sighed.

"Alright. I understand. But if they hurt you, so help them god-"

"Don't worry, they know." He paused. Then, quietly, "I know." Wally put his cup of water on the floor beside the mattress, "I'm going to try to take a nap. You should too, there's enough room on here to share. We'll need our strength." Artemis still didn't turn around and this time she kept quiet. Wally laid down and used his arm as a pillow, letting himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

Wally wasn't sure how long he'd slept. It could've been minutes, it could've been hours. He'd left his watch in his bag at Caracol and god only knew if he was ever getting that back. What he was sure of, however, was what the weight on his shoulder was. He looked down without moving his head and confirmed his suspicions.

Artemis was fast asleep, her hair a wild mess around her. Her hat was on the bottom corner of the mattress and her jacket was draped over both of them. The side of her face that Wally could see was completely serene; her face was blank and her lids hid those beautiful steely irises. Wally bent his arm, the one she was laying on, at the elbow and twirled his fingers in her remarkably soft hair, brushing it gently from her face. Artemis sighed and Wally froze but he saw she was smiling lightly so he continued.

She woke up an hour or so later. Wally was starting to get worried that she had a concussion and was almost relieved when she shifted. Her eyes opened and they had a warm sleepiness to them that he recognized from seeing it for five seconds way back in the Amazon. Wally stopped playing with her hair immediately. Artemis blinked slowly and seemed to realize where she was. She looked up and saw Wally watching down on her.

"Sorry," she mumbled quickly, sitting up. Wally propped himself up on his elbows.

"Don't apologize," he said. "Did you sleep alright?" Artemis nodded and hugged herself. "How's your head?"

"It's fine," Artemis said distractedly. She was looking at Wally, really looking at him. Wally froze under her gaze. "You've got a cut on your cheek." Wally's mind flashed to when they had knocked out Artemis and he had started screaming all kinds of obscenities. Cortes had used Artemis's coiled whip to slap him. It had bled a little, but not much. Artemis reached up, her fingers ghosting the cut. Wally shivered and Artemis retracted her hand quickly with a mumbled apology. She went to stand but Wally grabbed her hand and kept her where she was.

"Wait," Wally said quietly. He let go of her hand and her eyes followed his as it reached up slowly and carefully tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek after. Artemis leaned her face into his hand and closed her eyes for a moment. She let out this quiet little sigh before opening her eyes again. Wally began to move up towards her, and Artemis leaned down towards him.

Her lips were rough and chapped from being bitten and dry from the humidity of the forests. But they were warm and she tasted like vanilla, probably from that lip balm she had produced from her pocket before. His hand slid back into her fine hair. Wally sat up as far as he could in his position and Artemis leaned down further, pressing their lips together more firmly. Her hands cradled his face and she pulled herself even closer.

When they finally pulled apart, they were both short of breath. Wally ran his thumb gently over her bottom lip and she reached up and placed her hand on top of his, leaning her head into his hand.

"I've got a plan," she whispered. Wally continued tracing her lip. He smiled.

"Of course you do. Is it more of a plan, or a general outline?"

Artemis smiled, "The latter." Wally laughed quietly and Artemis leaned back down with a smile.

* * *

Thankfully, they were done by the time the plane landed. Their kisses had started off soft and slow but they escalated until they were making out like teenagers, fighting for dominance on the tiny mattress. Afterwards, they just laid next to each other while Wally played with her hair and Artemis traced little shapes on his chest, both torn by waiting for their chance to escape from Cortes but not wanting to leave the moment.

Wally went bright red when the two guards came in, as if they knew exactly what had been going on, but Artemis was cool as a cucumber, as always. They were marched side by side out of the room and to the front of the plane. Wally hadn't even realized how big it was until they went to the upstairs portion, which was a lot nicer than the downstairs cargo areas where they had been kept. Cortes was standing in wait for them, wearing a large black back pack.

"You will lead us to the statue," he instructed before either had a chance to ask, "You will be flanked by two men each and you will have no wrist or ankle bonds. We don't want to attract any attention to ourselves. Make any move to run or inform someone of your current situation and the other will be shot. Understand?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering how you managed to smuggle a machine gun into Venice?" Wally asked. Artemis snorted. When a guard came forward to smack Wally, Artemis interrupted.

" It's pretty brave," she started. Everyone turned their attention to her and the guard who went to hit Wally stopped. "Trusting the pieces of the Crest to one of your goons."

Cortes snorted and pulled off his backpack, "As if I would let them even _touch _the pieces. They're all in here-" He realized his mistake a second too late. Artemis smiled.

"Oops. My mistake," she said. Wally began to cough from covering up his laughter. Cortes huffed, shoving his backpack back onto his shoulders and even going as far to buckle it up in the front and tighten the straps. Cortes turned to leave and one of the goons shoved Wally, which was his way of telling them to follow. They walked back down the stairs and out of the plane, into the humid Hawaiian atmosphere. Wally shoved his sleeves up and Artemis adjusted her hat as they were led down the air strip. It was obviously a private one, because other than the waiting SUVs there was not a person in sight. The two had to sit in the back of one of the SUVs between two very large, very muscular guards. Another guard got into the driver's seat and Cortes got into the passenger seat. Wally rested a hand on Artemis's knee when he caught her eyeing her whip on the belt of the guard next to her. Artemis leaned over towards him automatically but her eyes didn't leave the whip.

Pedro turned around, looking distinctly awkward with his overly large limbs and too small clothes. He saw Wally's hand and glared.

"I'd wondered," he said. Artemis finally tore her eyes from her whip and looked at him with confusion. "I thought Professor West wasn't man enough for a woman of your caliber."

Artemis's eyebrows shot up, "Who are you suggesting is? You?" Cortes puffed out his chest proudly in response. Artemis's eyebrows went up even further. She turned to Wally and put a hand on the side of his face, getting him to turn and face her. Artemis pulled him down to meet her. She kissed him a lot dirtier than he expected, with tongue and moaning and Wally had to admit that it was incredibly hot. She pulled back first and kissed him twice more before smiling at him. She looked back at Cortes and leaned onto Wally.

"I don't know. I think he's man enough for me," Artemis said. Cortes scrunched his nose and turned bright red then faced forwards. Wally caught Artemis's eye and raised an amused eyebrow. Artemis reddened adorably and looked down into her lap. Wally grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers while the car turned into the city.

It pulled over on a busy street, the second SUV pulling over behind them. The man beside Wally went out first, then Wally, then Artemis. She stumbled and Wally caught her. "Wait for my signal," she whispered when he caught her and Wally knew she hadn't stumbled at all. He righted her and one of the guards shoved them to get them moving.

They walked down the street, flanked by guards. Two stood in front of them with Cortes and four walked behind. To any onlooker, it would've looked like two separate groups of people moving down the street; none of them would've known that seven of them were armed.

Wally saw a large tour group coming towards them and nudged Artemis. She inclined her head slightly to show him that she'd seen what he had. Then, Artemis stopped. She just stopped and planted her feet firmly in the ground, staring straight ahead. It was so sudden that at first, everyone kept going. The entire party had to stop and Cortes looked back impatiently.

"Well?" He looked at his men, who didn't know what to do. He looked at Wally. "Make her move," he demanded. Wally held up with hands in mock surrender.

"You know as well as I do no one can make her do anything." Artemis's lips quirked but she still didn't move. Pedro rolled his eyes at them and turned to the man behind her.

"Make her move. We're on a tight schedule."

The man put a hand on Artemis's shoulder. That was a mistake. As quick as lightning, Artemis grabbed his hand and just above his elbow and flipped him over her shoulder. As soon as Wally saw her grab his hand, he whipped around and punched the guy behind him just as Artemis had taught him, right in the chest and stomach. The man doubled over and Wally pushed him to fall and punched the next guy, having the same results. He turned in time to see Artemis kick one of the guards in the face, then put her foot down and turn on it, using her opposite foot to kick one of the front guards. Wally ran forward and grabbed the second front guard by the shoulders and lifted a hand to punch him across the face, letting him crumple to the ground. Wally looked to see Artemis elbow Cortes and try to grab the backpack from him, but it was still buckled to his front and was proving difficult to pull off. She shoved him down and was about to turn when Cortes yelled.

"Thief!" He yelled. People turned to look, only adding to the small crowd they had gotten from the fight. Artemis's mouth opened at his gull. She glared.

"Pervert!" She yelled in retaliation. People began to move towards them and Wally grabbed Artemis's arm and pulled her down the street and into the tour group.

The people in the group swore at them as they shoved their way through but neither dared stop; the goons had recovered quickly and were pushing their way into the group. Wally grabbed Artemis and pulled her down an alley with him. He looked back to see the goons continue barrelling through the tour group, oblivious to their escape route change. They ran down the alley and out into another street, where Artemis took over. She knew these streets (Wally was beginning to wonder if there were any that she didn't) and led him through a maze of alleys and stores until they came to a large open air mall. Artemis led him upstairs and into a huge, dark store that sold various fishing and boating gear. He saw her whip was attached back to her belt and she was grinning.

"Nice shots, West," she said proudly, referring to his punches. He grinned back.

"Thanks. I had a good teacher." He crossed his arms. "So that was the plan, huh?"

"I told you it was more of a general outline."

"I'm starting to wonder if any of your plans are actual plans or all are general outlines and you just make up the details as you go on."

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Artemis teased with a wink. He laughed and leaned against the wall and looked at her. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were open slightly from panting. Her eyes were bright from the adrenaline. She was wearing her signature hat and cargos and leather jacket and Wally's smile slipped a little. As beautiful as she was, she wasn't exactly conspicuous in that getup. When he told her that, she nodded her head in agreement.

"I know. That's why I brought us here. I still have the museum card and there's lockers here that they don't clean out for weeks; we can put our stuff in there. There's also some payphones around here; we should tell Kaldur and Raquel we're alright." Wally nodded his agreement and they set off. First, they bought some new clothes and changed in the bathrooms. Artemis kept her tank top and bought some black short shorts and black aviators. Wally got simple cargo shorts, a red t shirt, and black Ray Bans. After stuffing their clothes in a locker, Artemis plopped her hat on his head.

"Really?" Wally asked with amusement.

"What? Something's got to cover up your hair. It's a homing beacon," Artemis said, crossing her arms.

"You just don't want to part with your hat," Wally said.

"That too," Artemis said with a smile. She grabbed his hand and pulled her with him while he laughed. "Come on, we have to find those phones to call Raquel."

When they found the payphones, Artemis picked up the phone and dialed Raquel's cell.

"Hey Raquel... No, we're fine. Pedro and his crew picked us up outside of Caracol...You have our bags?" She covered the speaker with her hand and addressed Wally. "They left our bags back there. Raquel and Kaldur have them. They must've just taken when they needed."

_"We went inside that damn temple to see where you were!"_ A voice yelled through the phone as Artemis pulled her head away from it, "_And imagine our surprise when you weren't there! We went inside that stupid graveyard too, and you know how much I hate skeletons_."

"It was a burial chamber."

"_Do you think I care whether it was a graveyard or a burial chamber_?" Artemis covered the bottom of the phone.

"She gets angry when she's worried," She explained. Artemis put the phone back to her ear, "Breathe, Rocket. We're fine...Fine, I'll buy you all the rocky road when we get back, will that make you happy?...Good. We have the pieces. We stole them back after we escaped..." She laughed," You should've seen his face. It was hilarious...Yes, we're fine. I'm sure...How can you tell that from someone's voice? Raquel! No...No!...Will it make you shut up?..." Artemis held out the phone for Wally, "She wants to talk to you."

Wally took it and took a step towards the phone box. "Hello?"

"Hey, Wally. Are you and Artemis okay?" Raquel's voice said from the other end. She sounded considerable calmer now that she had been promised her ice cream. That, and she was reassured her friends weren't still kidnapped by a Spanish maniac.

"Yeah, we're fine. Both of us."

"Artemis sounds like she's been kissed. Did you kiss her?"

Wally's eyes went wide. How could she possibly tell that from her voice? He looked over at Artemis who mouthed, "What's she saying?"

"Uh...it was more of a mutual thing," Wally managed out. Raquel laughed.

"That's _awesome_. You guys just be careful, alright? Take care of her."

"I will."

He handed the phone back to Artemis, who held the phone away from her ear. Wally could hear laughing on the other end from where he stood. When it subsided, Artemis put the phone back to her ear.

"Yeah, we will...Okay...Uh huh..." She looked at Wally, "Yeah, I will...Bye." She hung up the phone. "One more thing, then we'll get dinner and get going."

They stopped off at the nearest post office where Artemis had to pay extra for the distance. Then they grabbed sandwiches from the nearest sub shop and sat on the beach as the sun set to plan out their next move.

"We'll have to intercept Cortes and get the pieces," Wally said between bites, "We can probably catch him at that airstrip." Artemis looked at up him with confusion.

"Why?"

"He probably has the Crest assembled by now. You don't think he would've chased us all day, do you?"

Artemis shook her head, "Nah, he definitely did. Besides, there's no way he'd have the Crest assembled, even if he had gone after it instead of us."

Wally looked at her, "You don't think he could've done it himself?"

"He's capable," Artemis said, "He could very well find it... If he looks in the right place."

"What do you mean, look in the right place? You told him..." Then he saw he smile and realized what she had done. "You lied to him."

"Course I did," Artemis said before biting into her sub. She chewed and swallowed before continuing, "There is such thing as the Pu'ukohola ruins, but I made up the statue. That way he can look up the ruins to verify they exist. When he didn't find the statue, he'd assume that it just wasn't popular enough to be well known."

"And the real court?"

"It's on this island. Cortes was just our free ride here."

Wally laughed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "You're kind of amazing, you know that?" Artemis laughed.

"Just kind of?" Wally leaned forward and kissed her slowly, pulling back to lean his forehead on hers. He took in Artemis's breathless expression with a smile.

"Alright. Really amazing. I just don't want to inflate your ego anymore." Artemis laughed quietly but Wally cut it off with another kiss. He pulled back and sat back next to her and both resumed eating.

"So, where is the Court then?"

"There's a volcano called Kilauea on the coast. It's constantly erupting and flows into the sea. All four elements meet there: the lava flows into the sea, making steam and causing the lava to harden and create rocks in the water. It's the only place in the world like it."

"So how do we get there?"

That's how they found themselves at the rental shop fifteen minutes later. Artemis had been wary of the place, worried that Cortes would have men posted out front, but they had staked it out for ten and saw no one so went inside.

They slipped into the role of honeymooners much more easily this time, holding hands and leaning on each other. They filled out the paper work as Iris and Allen Grayson (Wally chose the names this time) and were in their new jeep twenty minutes after walking in.

Artemis drove, of course, at her usual speed about twenty above the posted one. Wally held onto the handle above the door with white knuckles when they turned onto the empty highway and Artemis gunned it. They only slowed when they hit a red light at a lone intersection. The road was a one way and Artemis probably would've just ran the light but she told him the museum had warned her several times about any more traffic tickets. Artemis looked up in the rear view mirror with narrowed eyes.

"What is it?" Wally asked, catching her expression.

"The guy behind us. He's not slowing down." Wally looked out the side mirrors and saw she was right. They might've had a minute before he hit them. Artemis changed gears and was about to go through the intersection to get out of this guy's way when another car came out of nowhere and stopped in front of them. Artemis's eyes widened and she spun to look at him. He heard the beginning of his name before they were rammed from behind by the SUV.

* * *

Artemis's head snapped forward on impact, her airbag flying out to meet her halfway. She might've screamed, she wasn't sure, as the front of the jeep hit the car in the intersection and her head flew forward then back to hit the head piece of her seat roughly. Artemis tried to move her limbs experimentally and didn't feel anything excruciating, which was always a good sign. She had been mostly protected of any glass from the airbag and aside from her head pounding and whiplash, she didn't think anything was wrong.

"Artemis," said Wally from beside her.

"Wally," she responded. She didn't have time to say anything else because her door was ripped open and someone outside grabbed her upper arm, dragging her out of the vehicle and into its headlights. She was too disoriented to fight back and she let herself be dragged until they dropped her to her hands and knees. She heard someone drop next to her and looked up to see a mass of vibrant red hair.

"You okay?" She asked. Wally looked over and saw her, his eyes scanning her face from any cuts or bruises while she did the same for him. She'd tried to save him from the brunt; when she saw the SUV was about to hit them, she turned sharply so that the back right corner would be hit and the front left would hit the car in the intersection. Wally must've been satisfied with her lack of serious injuries, as she was with him, because he nodded slowly.

"You?"

"Just disoriented."

"What happe-"

"Ambush," Artemis answered. Her shoulder was suddenly yanked from behind and she was pulled back to her knees. She saw the same thing to happen to Wally out of the corner of her eye. The man behind her bound her wrists while the man behind Wally did the same and a third man approached them, flanked by two guards. She had never seen Cortes look so pissed. His face was red and his bony fists shook; his shirt was askew and his normally slick hair was a complete mess.

"Cheap shot," Wally said. Artemis smiled a little.

"Get them in the car," Cortes said slowly. The men picked Wally and Artemis up, forced them to their feet, and began to lead them to one of the SUVs that was parked down the road, but they stopped when Cortes called out. "On second thought, the good professor will ride with me." Artemis realized they were splitting them up and she snapped to look at him.

"He's just trying to scare us," she whispered to Wally, not sure who she was trying to reassure. Wally only just had time to nod before the man leading Wally grabbed his arm and pulled him towards another SUV while Artemis was pulled to the original one. The guard fastened her wrists to the handle above the door then got in the other side. He tried to take her seatbelt and buckle it for her, but stopped when Artemis looked at him and glared.

"Don't touch me," she snapped. The guard sat back slowly.

"I'm sorry," he said, catching her by surprise.

"_What_?" She said before she could stop herself.

"I'm sorry. I didn't sign up for kidnapping. I was hired to do some heavy lifting. To carry their packs around. Not kidnap people," the guard seemed to be sincere but Artemis was too furious to care.

"Oh, poor you," Artemis spat. The guard winced a little.

"I promise I won't hurt you," the guard said, as if it was supposed to be some kind of reassurance.

"It's not me I'm worried about," Artemis said. Two more thugs got into the front seats and the driver started the car. The guard beside Artemis held up a black blindfold.

"I'm sorry, but I have to put this on you. Is that alright?"

"Do I have a choice?" She snapped but she didn't resist when he tied it on surprisingly carefully. "Why is he blindfolding me?" She demanded to know, "I know where we're going."

This time, it was a guard from the front who answered her. "He wants you scared," Artemis could hear the smile in his voice.

"I'm not scared," Artemis snapped at him. Both men in the front laughed. The guard beside her spoke quietly.

"It's not you Mr. Cortes want you to be scared for." Even quieter, "Did you hurt anything in the crash? I said it wasn't a good idea but-"

"I'm fine," Artemis snapped. "Now shut up and don't talk to me," maybe it was a bit harsh, but Artemis had been kidnapped and she was pissed and she didn't know where Wally was and honestly, she was_ scared_. She had at least a little bit of a right to be angry. The guard stayed quiet after that.

They drove down the road for five more minutes, before turning onto rough terrain for at least another ten. When they finally rolled to a stop, the guard detached her bonds from the handle above the door. Three doors slammed and Artemis guessed that meant all three guards left the vehicle. Her door opened and she was pulled carefully from the car. She stumbled suddenly on the uneven earth and heard another car door slam as the guard gripped her arm a bit tighter to prevent her from falling.

"Wally?" She called out. She heard more car doors slam and some stumble out.

"Artemis!" She recognized Wally's voice right away. She heard their footsteps come closer and the guard let go of her arm. Other hands, warmer ones, hit her thigh and side clumsily before they took her hand carefully. He kissed her forehead crudely and Artemis felt like she could breathe again.

"Did they hurt you?" Wally asked.

"No. You?"

"I'm fine," Wally said.

"Get moving," someone said, and judging by the way Wally stumbled forward into her, he had been shoved.

"They can't walk like that," Artemis recognized the voice of the guard from the SUV.

"Take off Mr. West's blindfold," Cortes said after a minute, "He can lead Miss Crock."

The men must've taken off Wally's blindfold because they soon began moving. Wally directed Artemis, holding her hands with his and warning her of any stray rocks or holes on the ground. By the uneven, hard texture of the ground beneath her, Artemis guessed they were moving over hardened lava and that only meant one thing: Cortes knew exactly where they were going.

"How did they know where to go?" Artemis whispered.

Artemis tilted her head towards Wally as he responded. "The journal. There were some kind of hints in there or something. They worked it out themselves." He paused, "Cortes really wants it by the way. The journal. Almost more than the Crest."

"The journal? Why?"

"Cortes is convinced it has clues to how to get to the Court. Ways to avoid obstacles and traps." Wally carefully directed her away from whatever obstruction she was about to hit and continued. "Do you think he'll really hold us hostage?"

"Yeah. Well, you anyway. You've got enough cash to keep him going for a year at least. Don't worry, though; you'll make it home safe," She stopped talking them, not exactly keen on telling him what would most likely happen to her.

"What would he do to you?" Wally asked the exact question she was intent on avoiding.

"I've pissed him off too many times," she chose to say as her explanation. Wally's grip tightened a little.

"I won't let him. I can pay for us both."

"Wally, it's not going to come to that," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"I've got a general outline," Artemis said. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Wally laughed quietly.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Get the Crest, assemble the Crest, get a rock, conk Cortes on the head, and use that distraction for our escape."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

"And how are we supposed to escape?" With a smile, Artemis guided his hand discreetly to her pocket. She leaned her head towards where she thought his was.

"I swiped the guard's keys."

They walked for at least half an hour after that, Wally constantly coaching her through the whole thing. It slowly became hotter and hotter as they moved forward and harder and harder to dodge any stray rocks or holes. Finally, they stopped. Wally gasped quietly. Artemis could hear the ocean.

"Take off her blindfold," Cortes commanded and Wally's hands let go of hers to carefully untie it. She blinked at the moonless pitch black sky. Their way had been lit by lanterns carried by the guards but her eyes were drawn to Kilauea. The lava was the colour of the sun as it poured slowly and gracefully down the black stone cliff, meeting the calm ocean with a hiss. Steam rose and lava rocks sunk and the cycle continued. The four elements clashed together in a hopeless eternal battle, one that would be forever without a victor.

"Where the elements meet," Wally whispered from behind her.

She looked to Wally to respond, but her words caught in her throat. Wally had crusted blood trailing down his left nostril and off his chin and the skin around his right eye was purple, the beginning of a mild black eye. There was a swollen gash on his cheek, along with the one from earlier, and there was a green bruise on his forehead.

"Oh my god, Wally," Artemis said, reaching up to place her hand on the side on his uninjured cheek. Wally took her wrist in his hands.

"It looks worse than it is," he told her.

"What happened?" She demanded suddenly, feeling white hot anger course through her veins. She tried to carefully wipe off the blood with her fingers, but it was crusted and stuck to his skin. She felt someone tap her shoulder and turned to see the guard from the car, holding out a wet wipe and a first aid kit. She took the wipe without thanks and turned back to Wally. Artemis carefully wiped away the dried blood.

"What happened?" She asked, quieter this time. Wally gripped her hand reassuringly.

"They _really _want your grandmother's journal," he said. "Cortes wasn't happy when I didn't have it." Then, so quiet that Artemis barely heard, "I'm glad we didn't bring it." Artemis finished wiping away the blood and looked over her shoulder at Cortes and his men, who were talking amongst themselves while the less important guards watched over them.

"Me too," Artemis responded.

"Well, that and they're really pissed we got away like, four different times," Wally joked. Artemis looked at him and failed to fight back her weak smile.

Some of the thugs shouted something and Artemis was shoved in the shoulder by a gun barrel to get moving. They followed Cortes and his men down a narrow and rocky path. Artemis was glad she hadn't been forced to do it blindfolded; it was hard enough with just her hands bound.

They stopped on a ten foot wide ledge about fifty feet from the flowing lava. The heat was nearly unbearable. A guard came forward and began to undo Wally's bonds while Cortes spoke.

"I have found the Court of the Elementari'i," he said proudly, gesturing to the solid, jagged wall of the cliff face. Wally and Artemis looked at it, unimpressed.

"Are we missing something?" Artemis asked. Cortes fumed.

"West, the words."

"What words?" Artemis asked.

"The legend says certain words have to be spoken to open the Court. It's like a password," Wally explained to her. Even though there were already multiple guns pointed at them, Cortes seemed to think one more would make Wally say the password. When Artemis just took Wally's hands, Cortes glared.

"West, I will tell you one more time. Say the password," he pointed the gun at Artemis. "Or your girlfriend dies. Slowly." Wally's grip tightened on Artemis's hand.

" Elementa sint in statera," he said. The ground began to shake and rocks fell from above, only narrowly missing the ledge. The lava beside them fell faster and faster until a large rock emerged from the cliff behind, splitting the falls in two and guiding it down with more rock that also emerged from the wall. The lava split, revealing a large stone cave mouth.

"What's that mean?" Artemis whispered.

"The elements are in balance."

"Sounds better in Latin."

Cortes recovered faster than either of them and signalled for his guards to grab Wally and Artemis, who snapped back to attention. They were shoved to their knees; Artemis hit the dirt hard, unable to catch herself due to her bound wrists. Her already skinned knees burned and her forearms were scratched against the unforgiving rock as she tried to catch herself. She saw Wally had met a similar fate, also only just having caught himself by his forearms. Artemis sat up first, then Wally. Cortes came and kneeled in front of her and pressed the cold metal barrel of his gun against her soft cheek.

"Here's the deal," he said slowly. His eyebrow was split from her punch earlier in the day, held together with makeshift butterfly bandages. "You both go in there. You will assemble the Crest and bring it back out to me." He looked at Wally. "If you come out without it, one of you will get to go for a little swim while the other watches." He tilted his head to the lava falls, "And then, the other will be shot and left here to die. Any questions?"

Both held their silence. Cortes flicked his wrist and two guards came to relieve them of their bonds; Artemis rubbed her sore wrists.

"If we're going in there, I need my stuff," she said. Cortes turned around and looked at her.

"You are not in the position to be making demands, Miss Crock," he told her slowly, as if she didn't understand.

Artemis continued like he hadn't spoken, "I need my whip. I need my compass, I need a flashlight, and I need my gun."

Cortes sneered, "Let me see: no, no, no, and _definitely _not." He ticked each "no" off on his fingers. Artemis rose and Wally followed suit, despite the multiple guns cocking.

"Listen to me," Artemis demanded, "I need those things if we are going to get in and out alive. If we die in there because we don't have what I need, then you yourself are going to come in and get the Crest yourself. And we both know that I'm the best in this field, modesty aside. If I die in there, you'll die slowly."

Cortes paled, realizing she was right. He clenched his teeth together, "Get her what she needs. _Except _the bullets. We will give those to her once she's far enough away."

The guards gathered what Artemis needed and gave it to her. She and Wally were guided to the cave while Artemis fastened it all to her belt. Artemis counted twelve guns plus two machine guns pointed at her when they handed her the bullets for her gun. She put them in her pocket instead of her gun and turned around with Wally. With one final look back, they entered the cave.

It was hotter inside, if that was even possible. It was easily forty degrees Celsius inside, possibly more humid than even Iantu, and the walls were wet, moisture dripping down them in beads. Their way was lit by the dim lights of the guards fifty feet behind them and Artemis's flashlight, but mostly the lava that streamed down on either side of the cave. Once they were far enough from the entrance, Artemis loaded her gun and clicked it.

"You okay?" She asked Wally.

"Of course. I'm with you." Artemis _had _to roll her eyes at that one.

"You scared?"

Wally smiled a little, "We're going into a thousand year old Court that could very possibly kill us within the hour."

"Me too," Artemis admitted as they finally reached the end of the tunnel. There was a huge stone door waiting for them, a simple upside down triangle with a line through it was carved into it. They stopped and stared at it.

"Artemis?" Artemis tore her eyes from the door and turned to look at him. Wally took her hat off his head and put it on hers, pushing it down gently to secure it. "It's just another assignment. Another predictable trap. It's just another cave." Wally took her hand.

Artemis nodded, "Of course," she agreed, forcing herself to believe it. She placed her free hand on the door. "What could go wrong?"

She opened the door.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the last chapter before the epilogue, just a head's up. Enjoy & review, please.**

**-RoyalVictory**

* * *

Artemis pushed open the door.

It was a little anti climactic.

The room beyond was small with walls that slanted in and a brown dirt floor. The walls were clear, like glass, but showed only the rock walls of the cave. They both walked carefully into the room, Artemis stepping in on the balls of her feet.

"This can't be it," Wally said. Artemis silently agreed, nodding her head slowly as she searched the room with her eyes.

There was a loud groaning sound, almost like gears, and the door began to shut on its own accord. It moved too quickly for Artemis or Wally to even try to stop it; easily as that, they were completely cut off from their only escape. But even if they could stop it, they wouldn't have tried. The door was only a door. The real way to get out of this place was to assemble the Crest first. If they wanted to live that is.

Wally looked at the door, "I really wish the doors would stop closing like that."

"Just remember that all it means is that we're close." Wally nodded and looked around.

Artemis froze. She heard something hit the floor behind her and she turned to see a thin stream of sand that had started to fall from the center of the ceiling. "That's not our problem right now," Artemis said. Wally turned to look at the sand.

"Our best bet is probably to stay still."

"Wasn't planning on it," Wally reassured her as he studied the sand. "You know what's weird?" he said.

"Other than the sand falling from the ceiling?" Artemis didn't look away from the sand.

"This place, it's almost like-" but he was cut off when the ground beneath them cracked.

"Don't move," Artemis demanded again.

"What's going to stop that?" Wally said, indicating the still falling sand. It had now made a small mountain beside her. The floor cracked again. Both doctors held their breath. The floor beneath them shattered.

The floor they'd been standing on hadn't really been the floor it all. It seemed it was some kind of thin layer of terracotta that was above what was actually the floor. The floor beneath them was also slanted downwards and made of glass, like the walls. There was a large opening in the middle of the floor so that the sand fell directly into it and only led down into a dark room with glowing orange light. Wally and Artemis managed to catch themselves before they fell in, somehow able to press their limbs in such a way so that they could hold themselves up on the glass.

"It's an hourglass!" Wally said suddenly. Artemis looked over at him then glanced around the room. She realized he was right; they were in the upper portion of a huge hourglass and their time was ticking. "Look, there's words on the rim."

Artemis looked to where Wally indicated. There was a Latin phrase that repeated itself in a circle around the hole. "It's Latin," Artemis said, "I _hate_ Latin." She squinted at the words. "Succedere tempus incurras," she read. Wally slipped a little.

"Any chance you know what that means!?"Wally asked. Artemis slid, then stabled herself.

She looked at him, "You're the professor! You should know Latin. Isn't it a requirement?!"

"I'm a Chem major!" Wally said. He slid down a little.

"How'd you even get your job?!" Artemis snapped.

"Can we discuss this later? Maybe when we aren't in a giant hourglass?!"

Artemis glared but looked back at the words. "Suceedere, I think that means to succeed. Um... tempus is time. To succeed time something." She looked at Wally, "That's all I got."

"We have to obey the rules of time!" Wally said with a look of realization. Artemis slipped down a little but caught herself. She sent him a look.

"_What_?!"

"In your grandmother's journal, it says to obey the rules of time. The sand is time. The time has to fall and so do we!"

Artemis looked down at the hole. The chances were slim but it was their only option. Artemis nodded. "I'll go first."

"I think it's my turn to go first," Wally said. Artemis was about to argue but Wally started to slide, "See you there, babe!" He called out as he fell. Artemis let herself slide, then propped her foot against the lip of the hole so she was next to it. She leaned forward as far as she could without falling, straining to see. "Come down, I'm okay!" Wally called up. Artemis dropped her foot and let herself slip through the hole.

Wally caught her as she fell into his arms, bridal style. Artemis was about to remark on it, but was stopped when her breath pulled itself from her lungs due to the sight in front of her. They were in the volcano somewhere in a room that would be completely pitch black if not for the twin lava rivers on either side of a long patch of shiny black rock, on which the hourglass sat. The walls were covered in different weapons from hundreds of different civilizations, preserved perfectly. Nearest to them were medieval shields covered in different crests and designs; including one that looked suspiciously to be the crest of the mythical Pendragons. They moved out of the way of the still-falling sand (which was landing on Wally's shoulder and splashing onto their chests) and Wally put her down.

"Look, there's some kind of riddle. I think it's in Latin," Wally said, pointing out an engraving on the glass. Artemis looked back to the sand, which was falling more heavily, then to the crack in the glass that was the edge of a door.

"We don't have time for it," Artemis said, "Cover her eyes and ears," she pulled out her gun and braced herself, then fired three shots. The glass broke away where she hit it, and the magnified sound from the gun beat furiously in her ears even after the glass had shattered. Wally knocked out the remaining glass with his foot, then helped Artemis out of the hourglass.

"We need to talk about your hated of Latin," he said with a grin. Artemis looked at him.

"Later," she clicked her gun. Wally kept grinning and looked back at the sand behind them.

"If I never see another grain of sand in my lifetime it won't be soon enough," Wally said.

"I know what you mean," Artemis said, looking over her shoulder back at the sand that continued to pour through the hole. They both looked back out to the room in front of them.

The room looked too innocent. Artemis was starting to get a little sick of that; usually, tombs and temples had threatening messages scrawled along the walls or even angry images of gods. This place had nothing. Not a word, not a picture, not a anything. Not even the weapons looked menacing, placed as if they were art on display not weapons of war.

Artemis was just about to remark on how immaculate the place was when green flames burst out of the far end of the wall. She and Wally stumbled back as the fire shot through holes in the walls, the holes hidden by weapons on the wall. Each burst of fire only lasted about thirty seconds and ended to trigger another round of fire a foot closer to them. The heat was so strong that Artemis felt like she was standing right in front of it as opposed to fifteen feet away.

"Guard the lost secret!" Wally blurted like a mad man. He grabbed Artemis's arm and pulled her after him before she could ask what the hell he was going on about, only letting go to grab a shield off the wall. "Your grandmother had this place figured out," he explained quickly while he fought with the Pendragon shield. Artemis had a million questions running through her head but reached up to help anyway; he obviously had an idea. "On the same page that it said to obey the rules of time, it said right underneath it to guard the lost secret."

More fire sprouted out of the walls, and Artemis was almost scared to ask. "What's the lost secret?"

"Greek fire." Artemis's eyes widened and she looked over at him. Greek fire was one of the most dangerous substances in all of history: it burned hotter than any fire in the world and it could even burn on water. The secret had been so closely guarded that it was lost to time, the recipe forgotten by its very creators. "We have to use the shield to guard against it," Wally explained hurriedly.

"Why can't we use another one?! This one's huge!" Artemis said.

"Because according to legend, the only thing that can withstand Greek fire are dragons." Artemis looked at the dragon on the shield then back at the fire.

Wally and Artemis both looked back at the fire then tired even harder to get the shield off the wall. It was mounted on the wall by a few hooks, placed so that it was incredibly secure but even more difficult to pull off. Artemis picked up a fat magma rock from the floor then slipped her arm under the shield, beating away at the closest hook. It gave way and the two were finally able to take if off. Off the wall, it was at least five feet tall and it had a strangely rounded shape that made it a little difficult to hold up, not to mention that it weighed at least eighty pounds.

"You ready?"Wally nodded, hiking it up a little. He had most of the weight, holding it on his shoulder, but Artemis still tried to hold up the bottom for him.

They waited for the fire to stop, then they ran. They made it halfway down the passage before Artemis heard a _click_. She grabbed Wally's shirt and pulled him with her.

"DOWN!" She shouted. She fell to her back and pulled Wally on top of her, only just getting the shield on top of them both in time. The shield covered both of them completely and created a seal against the ground due to its strange circular shape, but only just. Wally put his face in the crook of her neck and Artemis held her breath. She could feel Wally's hot breath coming out against her neck in pants. Artemis heard the fire start, but she didn't feel it. In fact, it almost seemed to get cold inside the shield. The fire continued. Wally lifted his head and looked at her.

"Ready?" He asked. Artemis nodded. He kissed her quickly before bracing himself above her.

It stopped and Artemis knew they had roughly thirty seconds. Wally shot up with the shield and Artemis followed. Both bolted down the hall and came to a door . They opened it without hesitation and piled in without the shield. They slammed it shut just as a new round of fire started, unbearable heat slapping them even after the door was closed. They stood with their backs pressed against it, fighting to catch their breath. When they did, they stepped forward.

They found they were standing on a tiny platform that hung above a large clock face, not unlike the one on St. Mark's Clock tower. Droplets of water hung suspended in the air, falling impossibly slowly, inching down slower than a crawl speed. At first glance, they were beautiful, but when one caught the light of Artemis's flashlight, it reflected back purple. Artemis was suddenly very wary about them.

"The elements are repeating themselves," Wally said and Artemis felt inclined to agree.

"First the hourglass for earth, then Greek fire for fire. Now water. Next will be air," Artemis finished for him.

"So what's the trap in this?" Wally asked. Artemis bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt from the floor and threw it out. It hissed as it hit the droplets, letting off smoke.

"I'm gonna go with the water," Artemis said. "Or liquid, whatever the hell it is."

"How do we get around it? It's everywhere."

"Was there anything in the journal?" Wally shook his head.

"Nothing useful." Artemis looked around the room again, squinting at it closely.

"Then we have to follow one of the other two. See how that's a clock face?"

"You think we have to obey the rules of time again?" Artemis nodded.

"Water falls at around nine meters per second. These are going about five centimeters per second. That makes them fall at about one hundred and eighty times slower than usual. You slow down the seconds of the clock here to be moving one hundred and eighty times slower and we have our clock speed," Artemis said. Wally looked at her.

"What?" She said. "I'm not just a pretty face." Wally laughed.

"So, Einstein, how do you suggest we get through here?" Artemis watched the water fill up the roman numerals on the clock at a different rate than the suspended drops. Once the numbers were full after about thirty seconds, they would drain and for that ten seconds, there would be no water drops suspended above that section of the clock.

"We have to obey the rules of time. We follow the clock." Artemis watched the five empty then took Wally's hand. The VI drained and they leapt from the platform to it. Wally followed her lead and jumped from number to number the second they drained, only narrowly avoiding getting rained on. Wally was just a second later than Artemis and got hit by a single drop on IX. He swore loudly but they kept going; Artemis would've stopped but she knew if they did, it'd be much worse for both. She only checked it out once they were on a second platform by the door, safely away from clock and the drops.

It had burned right through his skin, cauterising the wound as it went so it didn't bleed. He was lucky it only went through the edge of his hand instead of an arm or leg, where it could've caused serious damage. Judging by the depth of it, it looked like it could've gone through to the bone. Still, it was angry red and Artemis didn't doubt it hurt. Especially since it went through his still healing burn from Ireland. Wally was biting the inside of his cheek, hard, but insisted they keep going. Artemis nodded then turned to open the next door.

They continued on into the air trap chamber, which looked just as dangerously innocent as the rest of the rooms. It was completely empty, void of any clues that might point to what the hell the trap was in that place. Artemis pulled a large chunk of rock from her pocket that she'd been saving since the first tunnel and tossed it up twice in her hand. After exchanging a quick look with Wally, she threw it down the room. It landed on what seemed to be completely even, solid ground and at first, did nothing. But then a square that was about a foot by foot wide surrounding it sank down into the floor and dozens of spinning saw blades flung themselves out of the wall, moving in a choreographed dance of death. Then they snapped back into the wall with no indication that they had been there at all, even the stone moved back to hide its purpose.

There was only one way to get through it and they both knew it.

"Together?" Wally asked, holding out his hand. Artemis grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers.

"Together," she agreed.

"One," Wally said.

"Two," Artemis said. Wally's grip tightened.

"Three," Wally said. Artemis took a deep breath.

They leapt out from the platform and bolted. Artemis wasn't sure who set off the trap, or how, but what she did know was nine blades were coming at her at once. They had to drop their hands to avoid getting them sliced off but they both kept going side by side. Artemis stopped for a split second to avoid a blade, Wally getting just that farther ahead because of it. He made it to the end seconds before Artemis, completely unscathed.

Artemis was less than a foot away when a saw shot out from the wall and cut her on the thigh shallowly. She cried out but kept going until she was out of reach of the blades, sliding beside Wally on her stomach. The blades resumed their hiding spots, the room going suddenly silent having been previously been occupied by the screech of the saws. Wally helped Artemis up and they hugged each other tightly, both their hearts pounding hard against their chests. When they pulled apart, Artemis automatically looked down at her leg to assess the damage and Wally did the same. The cut wasn't deep but it was long, almost across her entire right thigh, and looked painful. Blood ran down her leg in steady drops and Artemis wiped at them impatiently, wiping her hand off on the front of her shirt after.

"Are you okay?" Wally asked. He kneeled down to examine the wound.

"I'm fine," Artemis said. The pain had already faded but she was pretty sure it was just because of the adrenaline racing through her veins. "We need to keep going."

Wally stood up again. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine. Let's keep going," Artemis insisted, ignoring the feeling of the hot blood as it dripped down her leg. Wally kissed her forehead and she tilted her head up the kiss his jaw in return. They turned to the door. Wally went to grab the handle, but Artemis stopped him with a hand on his forearm. "Wait. Wally, the writing." There was five separate sentences written uniformly on the door, in five different languages. "They all say the same thing." She looked up at Wally. "This is the Court of the Elemantari'i."

Both of them looked to the door. Wally pushed open the door and they walked in.

This room, as opposed to the last four, was magnificent. The walls were covered in beautiful paintings and carvings with shelves full of precious jewels and artefacts. The center of the room was dominated by a giant solid gold table, complete with plates and foods made of other precious metals. Seated at the table were the solid silver statues of three men and two women, holding their cups up in an eternal toast. The man at the head of the table wore a single wrist cuff, exactly like the Crest of Kings.

"Wally," Artemis said as it dawned on her. "This wasn't about the four elements."

"What?"

"There is so much speculation about the Crest being in China because its founder was Chinese. The Chinese didn't have four elements. They had five." Wally looked down at her as she explained. "There's been five of everything. Think about it. Five statues in Peru. Five sets of pillars in Ireland. Five layers of the platform in Venice. Five sets of five stairs in Caracol. Five different places to get the Crest. Five rooms here. There's probably been even more but we've just missed them."

"There's five pieces," Wally said. He reached down and took out the pieces of the Crest out of the satchel at Artemis's side. He held up the four pieces and connected them in the order they were found, making the complete circle. He turned it over and revealed a small pentagonal hole in the middle of the first piece from Peru, where something smaller than a coin would fit. "The fifth element in China was metal, right?" He reached to Artemis's neck and picked up the chain she kept her rings on. He held up her grandmother's ring. "She knew how to beat the rooms because she'd been here before." Artemis's jaw dropped. "Those notes about obeying time weren't for you; they were for her. It explains why there wasn't any note of this place in the book. She probably thought that if the book of taken, no one would think to take the ring too if they didn't know about the Court. It wasn't a matter of assembling the Crest here. It was a matter of getting this ring from here." Both Wally and Artemis looked to the statue at the head of the table. The hand he did not hold up for the toast was rested on the table, fingers spread. It would've been easy to get a ring on and off his silver fingers.

Artemis took her necklace off and pulled the ring off, then put her necklace back on. She held up the ring and examined it. "We've had the last piece the whole time."

"Your grandmother was a very smart woman," Wally said. Artemis examined the ring. "Artemis, there was one more word on the page with the first two instructions." Artemis handed Wally the ring. "It was twist," Wally said. He placed the ring's diamond in the hole, where it fit perfectly, then twisted it. Artemis and Wally watched as the Crest lit up with a golden light between the cracks. The light was so stunning that both had to look away only to look back once the light faded. The Crest of Kings was complete.

Both were so busy watching the Crest with wide eyes that neither noticed the statues behind them lower their glasses and turn to look at them.

Wally took the ring out. Artemis wished he hadn't. The moment he took it out, it felt like some invisible bungee cord wrapped itself around her waist and pulled them back to slam against opposite walls. Artemis's head snapped back and hit the wall, along with her arms and legs. Just as suddenly that the cord grabbed them, it dropped Artemis to the floor. Artemis groaned and pressed her hand against her face.

"Ow," she said, "Wally, you okay?" She opened her eyes and looked up. Her eyes went straight to the table where all five of the statues were missing. Her breath caught in her throat and Artemis caught a flash of silver in the corner of her eye. She was almost scared to look but she did anyway and her heart started to pound harder than it ever had before.

The statues were missing because they were standing not five feet from her, walking in a semi circle towards her. Artemis scrambled up against the wall, pressing her back against it. She didn't dare take her eyes off the advancing statues.

"Wally? Wally are you okay?" She chanced a look over one of the statue's shoulder and saw Wally lying on the ground, apparently unconscious. The Crest was fastened around his wrist. Artemis looked back at the statues, whose silver lips had turned up to give her some kind of nasty, borderline grotesque smile. That was when her instinct took over.

She kicked out her foot and it connected with the shoulder of the closest statue. That was a mistake. Not only did she kick a statue made of solid silver, but she used the same leg that had been injured. She cried up and fell back against the wall. The statue didn't even seem deterred. Artemis pulled out her gun and shot another, but the bullet just bounced off and she had to duck as it came back and lodged in the wall behind her. The statue didn't even dent.

"Wally!" She called out. "Wally! You have to wake up!" She couldn't see him from where she stood, surrounded by the statues. She thought maybe she could hold them off and Wally could escape. Artemis already had their attention; besides, if either one of them was going to make it out of here, he was the one who deserved to. She'd cheated death too many times; it was bound to happen sooner or later. But that didn't mean she was about to just give up.

She took off her whip and cracked it, catching one on the ankle. She pulled it down and flicked her whip again to bring it back towards her. But it was no use. There were too many and she wasn't Superman. There was no way she could fight these things alone. She ignored the fact in favour of cracking it again, catching another around the neck, but the statue grabbed the whip and pulled it, pulling her to the ground. Artemis hit the ground and rolled with it but was grabbed around the arm by one of the statues and pulled to her knees. It was one of the women and Artemis thought her grip was cutting off circulation. A second grabbed her other arm and her whip was wrenched from her grip. Her hat fell off. A third statue stood in front of her while a fourth grab her shoulders and pulled her back, keeping her from struggling. The one in front of her, a man, braced a cold unforgiving hand on her chin and another at the base of her skull.

It was funny, Artemis reflected as she accepted her fate. She'd often pondered how she would die. In her line of work, death was almost guaranteed. But she'd always assumed it'd be a bullet or a misstep in an old temple somewhere. She thought it might be a swinging knife or a well placed arrow or even drowning; she'd never pictured it'd be a broken neck by a statue. She thought of how Zatanna would gloat when she heard the story about the magic statues but then she remembered she was about to die and she wouldn't talk to her for a very, very long time.

Artemis thought of who might miss her: Kaldur, Raquel, Megan, Dinah, Mom, Conner, Zatanna, Uncle Ollie, Jade, Wally if he got out. Maybe even Dick Grayson. Her mother and Megan would cry and she hoped they wouldn't. Artemis let out a breath as the statue adjusted his grip and closed her eyes.

"Halt," said a strong, deep voice from behind the statue in front of her. Artemis's eyes opened slowly and the statue let go of her head. It stepped away and Artemis saw Wally.

It took her exactly two seconds to realize that the Wally in front of her wasn't her Wally.

Its eyes weren't his warm green; they were molten silver. On his wrists were two cuffs and on the floor was one statue, the one who had been at the head of the table. Wally – no, It, stepped forward. The two statues holding Artemis's arms dropped her and she fell, the blood beginning to painfully circulate around in her arms again. She looked up and scrambled back, pressing her back against the wall. It stepped forward.

"We wish you no harm," It said. Artemis wanted to laugh in It's face; had it not seen that she was about to die three seconds before?

"What did you do to him?" Artemis demanded. She had forgotten her fear for the moment, furious at the pure gull that _thing _had, thinking it could just take Wally's body like that. It had _no _right and Artemis wanted nothing more than it kick its ass. The only problem was that she didn't want to hurt Wally; that was the only thought that kept her on the ground.

"Wally is letting me share his body so long as I save you."

"Get out of him," Artemis said through gritted teeth. Wally _would _do something boneheaded like that, but that didn't mean she was just going to believe it.

It leaned in front of her on one knee, "I promise you, I will. But first, I must ensure the Crest's security. Its power must be protected."

"Then why don't you just kill us? We're here to get it," Artemis snarled.

"I remember your grandmother. You have her eyes," It stated. Artemis sat up a little straighter, eyes never leaving It's face. "She came here many years ago and took my ring. I encountered her also but I let her go free. She did not want the ring for its power. She wanted to study it; to share the knowledge she gained from it to show the world. It was a noble venture and I let her leave with my ring. I did not harm her then and I do not wish to harm you now. She did not want its power, nor do you." Artemis said nothing and continued to glare. It continued, "She was spirited like you. She fought hard but she was a little more diplomatic; she fought with words, not fists or bullets.

"I know you are wondering how to hurt me without hurting Wally. I am sorry, but you cannot. Please believe me when I say that I cannot take someone's body without their permission."

"You stay out of my head," Artemis spat. It backed off a little.

"Apologies. You are correct; it was wrong for me to invade your thoughts like that." It continued, "As I was saying: I have seen Wally's memory. He has shown me why you are here. You both wish to study the Crest; neither want the power. I do not wish you harm."

"What do you want with Wally's body?"

"I must ensure the Crest's safety. I know you were forced to this task by a man who wants the Crest for its power. I need a vessel to leave this place then I will leave your Wally and dispose of the man who wishes to abuse the power of the Crest for his own gain."

"Why should I believe you?" Artemis spat.

To that, It reached forward and placed its hand on her injured thigh. Artemis flinched. When It brought its hand away, the wound from the blade was completely gone. "Please, trust me." It picked up her hat and put it back on her head. There was something so distinctly _Wally _about the gesture that Artemis let It help her up.

Artemis saw no choice but to follow It out of the room. The other statues followed. Artemis kept a close eye on them, coiling her whip as they walked after having picked it up from the ground.

The statues went in front of Artemis and It in the blade room. As the blades came out to meet them, they simply grabbed them and forced them back into their hiding spots, displaying their incredible strength once again. Artemis kept close to It as they walked down the hall, the statues stopping any other blades that tried to hit them. The statues went first again in the next room and simply walked straight through, taking all the drops out of the air with their bodies so that they could walk through before any others formed. The droplets _hissed _as they hit the silver of the statues, but they didn't seem to notice.

Two statues flanked both Artemis and It as they walked down the hall with the Greek fire. The statues seemed unbothered by the green fire that licked at them while they shielded Artemis and It. Even shielded, the intense heat was harsh and Artemis felt a sweat break just by walking through the room.

After entering the hourglass, one of the female statues lifted Artemis and It through the hole but none followed. Artemis now saw why It didn't just go in its own statue; they couldn't fit up the hole in the hourglass.

It held out Wally's hand in front of him and the rock in front of the door smashed open, bits going everywhere but none hitting Artemis or It. Artemis guessed that wasn't some kind of freak miracle. The smell of the sea hit them and It breathed in deeply as they stepped out into the hall. It turned back to look at Artemis halfway through, stopping both of them.

"Thank you, Artemis." It said, "This is where I leave you and Wally. Farewell, child." Its eyes closed. They slowly opened back up to reveal the most brilliant green Artemis had ever seen. Something seized Artemis's chest and she stopped breathing for a moment. It was like coming home.

She caught Wally as he fell and carefully lowered him to the ground. He leaned heavily on her, letting his head drop to her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Artemis asked quickly.

"'M alright." He said. Then it occurred to Artemis that maybe this wasn't him. Maybe it was still whatever had possessed him. She froze, her limbs going stiff. "It's me, beautiful," Wally said, reading her mind. "I promise it's me." He lifted his head off her shoulder and looked her in the eye. "It was all a part of the plan. Those things were about to kill you and he offered to save you. Save both of us."

Artemis relaxed slightly and she felt fury burn through her, "You call that a plan?!"

"Fine," he smiled a little smugly, "More like a general outline." And she knew it was him. She grabbed his face with both hands and pulled him to her, kissing him _hard_. When they broke apart, both were short of breath as they leaned their foreheads against one another.

"We should go," Artemis said. Wally nodded. Artemis helped him up and pulled an arm over her shoulder. Wally leaned on her heavily, the toll of having whatever the hell it was in his body was making itself known.

It took them longer to get out of the tunnel than it did to go in due to Wally's slow pace. Artemis braced herself for whatever was out there: they didn't have the pieces anymore. Those disappeared with It. She wasn't sure what she was expecting after emerging from the tunnel, probably something along the lines of a hundred bullets, but it definitely wasn't what was there.

Cortes and his entire party were gone, as was any evidence that they had been there at all. There were no packs, no jackets, _nobody_. Not even a shell casing.

Only one remained. He looked up when they came out and stood from the rock he'd been seated on. As he approached, Artemis recognized him as the guard from the SUV, the one who'd given her the cloth to wipe Wally's face.

"What happened? Where is everyone?" Artemis asked.

"I do not know," he said, shaking his head. The man looked terrified, Artemis noticed. "Señor Cortes sent me to get something from the SUV and I came back to find everyone was gone. Vanished into thin air. I only remained to see if you came out okay."

Wally and Artemis exchanged a look. "Go home," Artemis told him after a pregnant pause. "Take an SUV and go home."

It took Artemis and Wally nearly an hour to get back to the remaining SUV. The guard wanted to help, but Artemis insisted he leave without them after they went up the narrow cliff. Artemis helped Wally into the passenger seat and buckled him in then went around to the driver's side. She hadn't noticed when she was half carrying Wally, but somewhere along the long walk down the hot magma her satchel had become heavy. Artemis slid into the driver's seat and took off the satchel. She opened it and found all four pieces of the Crest of Kings winking up at her. In the bottom, she found a folded piece of cloth. When Artemis unfolded it she found her grandmother's ring and a message written in Mandarin: "Keep it safe."

Artemis and Wally exchanged a look before Artemis put the ring back on her necklace and Wally put the Crest pieces in his lap. She began to drive.

Twenty minutes in, Artemis finally remembered something, "What was the power of the Crest?"

Wally looked at her, "I don't know."


	10. Chapter 10

"I'll get it!" Megan called out cheerily as the door bell rang. She practically skipped to the door of their little house and pulled it open, finding a postman. He gave her a small package and she signed for it, bidding him goodbye with a chipper, "Have a nice day!" to which the postman grunted and scratched his bottom in return. Megan's smile weakened a little. She closed the door just as her husband came down the hall towards her.

"Who was it?" Conner asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her gently to his chest. Megan leaned back into him comfortably, her smile growing again.

"Postman," Megan said. Conner looked over her shoulder at the package. It was small, square, bulky, and there was no return address but there were stamps all over it. Despite the confusing amount of stamps layered on top of each other, it was easy enough to figure out where it came from.

"Hawaii? Do we know anyone in Hawaii?" Conner said. Megan shook her head lightly. She looked up at him.

"But we do know someone who travels a lot," Megan said. She looked back down at the package with a smile, oblivious to the smile Conner directed at her.

Megan tore off the brown paper to reveal a leather journal held together with a few elastic bands. A stickie note was stuck to the front with a short message written in an untidy scrawl. _I owe you one. –A_it read. Conner and Megan exchanged smiles then turned around together to put it away somewhere safe.

* * *

The pilots sat on the couch in Kaldur's apartment. The apartment was modest and clean with a few personal touches, such as a few pictures and some houseplants that he liked to take care of in his time off. There was two pairs of shoes at the door, one placed neatly on the little side mat and the other tossed on it carelessly.

Kaldur sat up straight on his navy blue couch with his bottle of beer on his knee while Raquel had thrown her limbs where it'd be most comfortable, with both feet on the coffee table, one arm across the back of the couch, and the other holding her own beer. Her seating arrangement didn't bother him like it used to; in fact, it made his apartment feel more like home.

They were watching a movie and there was a large dish of homemade nachos on the coffee table in front of them, along with a half melted carton of Rocky Road ice cream. This was customary for every finished assignment, to have a beer, some nachos, and some ice cream while watching some movie they had picked out of Raquel's extensive collection.

Raquel held out her bottle wordlessly and Kaldur tapped his own against it with a smile.

* * *

Zatanna looked down at the map she held, then back up at the hall of the university as she bit her lip. She'd been in the place for half an hour now, searching the campus for the visitor's center or an office or anything really that she could use to help her. So far, she hadn't had any luck.

"Can I help you?" She turned to see a man in a suit with black hair holding a black briefcase. He was smiling.

"Yeah, actually. I'm meeting a friend of mine for lunch, Artemis Crock, and I'm an hour early. Do you know where I might find her?"

"She's probably in Wally's classroom. Just down the hall and swing a left. It's your first door on the right."

"You know Wally?"Zatanna asked. The raven haired man nodded.

"Yeah. He's my best friend."

"Are you Dick Grayson?"

He smiled and nodded. "You're Zatanna Zatara, aren't you?" Zatanna nodded with a smile. "That makes you the girl who had the laptop with the impossible encryptions. You know, it took me twenty minutes just to figure out where your laptop's signal was coming from."

Zatanna laughed, "Well, you know. Paranoid writers are pretty thorough when it comes to where they keep their work."

"It was pretty asterous," he realized what he said and quickly went to correct himself, "I mean-"

"No, I get it," Zatanna interrupted. "You took the 'dis' off. Clever." Dick grinned.

"I've got another hour before my next class. You wanna go get a cup of coffee?" Zatanna nodded with a smile and the two started down the hallway.

"You can call me Zee, by the way."

* * *

Artemis slipped into the back of the classroom just as Wally was welcoming his students. They were all getting seated and settled and when Wally caught her eye from the front, he winked. Artemis smiled. Her hand reached up out of newly developed habit, grabbing onto the ancient gold ring that rested on the chain around her neck.

They hadn't told the museum about the fifth piece or the journal or the Court. They kept everything that happened in Hawaii a secret, explaining the charges on the museum's card by telling them only about the kidnapping. The authorities now had a search for Cortes going on, one that neither Wally nor Artemis thought would be successful.

Only Wally's black eye remained from the debacle, played down by the glasses on his face (the ones Artemis secretly thought were adorable) and the burn from the water in the Court on his hand. Neither could figure out what exactly that liquid was; he'd have that scar forever, a little half centimeter of the edge of his hand would always be missing. Artemis's face had also healed well, the only injury remaining from the assignment was a deep purple scar on her thigh that would eventually turn a soft pink then fade to white. She'd taken the past two weeks off to study the Crest alongside Wally, slowing down only a little bit so that her bruises could heal before she went back out into the field and got fresh ones. It'd only been two weeks, but she was getting restless. She was eager to get on assignment again, and was sure Wally would be right behind. Wally had gotten permission from the museum to tag along with her. At first, Artemis was annoyed that he had gone behind her back (he wanted it to be a surprise) but then she thought maybe it wouldn't be so bad to have someone to watch her back. It especially wouldn't be so bad if it was her boyfriend, not that she would admit it.

"Class, we have a guest speaker today. This is Doctor Artemis Crock. She's here to discuss her latest find: the Crest of Kings, which is now on display at the museum," Wally introduced. Artemis took that as her cue to begin walking up the aisle. The eyes of the students followed her as she began to speak.

"The Crest of Kings is roughly six inches long, in the form of a wrist cuff, and made of solid gold. It was made by a secret society known as the Elemantari'i and is comprised of four pieces, found in Peru, Ireland, Italy, and Belize, each of which represent one the four elements: earth, fire, water, and air, respectively." She reached the front of the room and picked up a piece of chalk, rolling it between her fingers. "I would've never found it without your professor," she told them then turned around and began to write the name of the find but stopped halfway through and addressed the class. "Oh, I almost forgot. It's supposed to have mystical powers." The class laughed and Artemis looked to Wally. They exchanged smiles.

* * *

**That's the end! I really hope you guys enjoyed it. It's really bittersweet finishing this, but I am working on something else so hopefully that'll be up soon. Fingers crossed. Thanks again and please review.**

**-RoyalVictory**


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